Blood will out
by nefertari-101
Summary: Hermione is the daughter of John Winchester, half sister of the boys. she was kicked out when she got her letter but now her two worlds are coming together. Read FUBAR and the beginning as companion pieces
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Supernatural are not mine. I'm not making any money from this, it is simply for my own enjoyment. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Chapter one.

Hermione stared at the phone cradled in her palm and tried not to throw up. He was dead, her real father; the man she both idolized and hated in equal measures. It scared her beyond anything that she had ever seen. The man had been such an incredible force; indestructible. And now he was gone.

She had to call them, had to hear their voices, had to know that they were okay. Of course it was a good chance that they were; the yellow eyed man wouldn't have wasted the opportunity to gloat about something like that. They were alive, they had to be.

She quickly dialed the memorized number and crossed her fingers as she waited for a miracle.  
'Hello.' A deep gruff voice answered and she let go off the breath she had been holding, almost crying in relief.

'Dean.' Her voice trembled and she took a steadying breath trying to get herself under control. This was her big brother, one she hadn't spoken to in years, not since she had gotten her letter and been expelled from the family. The anger at that was still there but she put it to the back of her mind, there were more important things going on here then whether her family loved her or not.

'Hermione.' The voice was wary, and she almost snapped at it, who else would it be.

'He's dead.' She didn't make it a question, couldn't force herself to ask something that she knew. Couldn't let herself hope when her heart was already bleeding within her chest.

'Yeah dad's dead.' The voice was angry and biting, and pained, and so dean that the tears fell without her knowing, because this was her big brother who had just lost his father, his commanding officer and the man who guided him. He must be so lost.

'You and Sam alright?' She tried to go for nonchalant, but feared that it came out scared and tight.

'Yeah, we're still kicking around.' His voice had gone sympathetic, because dean knew what family meant. Blood was blood and it didn't matter what happened, family always mattered.

'You didn't call.' It was accusatory, and petty given everything else , but she didn't care. Dean was meant to know what it meant.

'How did you find out?' Because denying the obvious would only have made her mad, and saying that they were going to would have been a lie.

'A man came up to me today, He told me that he had killed my daddy, had sent him straight to hell, and that I could go and thank my brothers for that. He told me that I had better be careful because I might just be next. ' He had told her more than that, offered her things, threatened her, asked her to join him. But all she could focus on was that her daddy was dead and probably in hell, and this sonovabitch had done it. She has whipped out her wand and stunned the man. The black smoke had exploded from the man's mouth and dissipated into the air. She had been left alone with an unconscious, unpossessed man, and she had only moved when the owl had flown in through the open window, warning her that magic was not to be done outside of Hogwarts for fear of expulsion.

'Are you hurt, did he hurt you?' the voice had become frantic and loud, and she held the receiver away from her ear and waited for the noise to die down.

'I'm fine, he's gone.' Which wasn't the whole truth because the man was still lying on the kitchen floor, stunned where he had landed, although she was sure the danger had passed with the exit of the black smoke. She wasn't even sure how he had gotten into the house, just happy that her parent's were still at work.

'Hermione, what's happened?' Sam had obviously wrestled the phone from Dean's grip, he sounded calmer. Of course that didn't mean he was, he just had the calming crazy people voice down.

'Sam, I'm fine. Tell me what's happening.' She needed to know, needed to know whether her family was in danger, whether her Winchester blood was going to get her loved one's killed as it was want to do. She swallowed the scream of frustration that was crawling up her throat. It wouldn't do to lose it. She had to be calm and rational and sort this out. Because there was already one war she was involved in, she didn't think she could handle being thrust into another one, was afraid that the choice had been taken away from her already.

Her brother was silent. Her leg began to twitch in anticipation, in worry.

'Dad was killed by the thing that killed our mother.' Because of course that had always separated them, the woman that so ruled her father's side of the family wasn't her mother. Her mother was English and a dentist, and alive. It had always been a great divide between them all, that kind of jealousy. It had been one of her father's excuses for sending her away. He didn't want to put her mother in danger. Little good it had done, considering she put her mother in danger every day, just for being herself, for having her friends. It made her sad.

'So he said, are you still hunting him?' Stupid question, given the Winchester penchant for revenge.

'Yes, do you think he would stick around?' As if she had any great insight into the monster. Though she couldn't say yes, it might bring them to her. She ached to see them, to just be with her brothers once again, tell them her fears, how she was in a war and was afraid she wasn't going to make it. How she was scared she would never even see her family again. How she wanted to wail in grief that her daddy was dead, the man that had taught her to shoot and about ghosts and monsters and how to fear, and how to kill . How she loved him, despite his betrayal, how she loved them all.

'No I think he was just gloating, just taunting you that he knew that I was alive, that I existed; just an idle threat.' Sam's hmm told her that he didn't believe that anymore then she did. 'it doesn't matter anyway, I shall be leaving in two days for somewhere that I doubt he will be able to get to. I shall set protections on my parents but he won't be able to get to me, I just thought you should know.' She wanted this conversation to end, she hadn't spoken to them in years, had only talked to Sam once since she had been eleven, when he was drunk and broken and had been kicked out of the family just like her; hadn't spoken to Dean or her father. It was awkward and hard and she wanted it done.

'I suppose that could be true, but look if you want to come here you're more than welcome to, I mean you're on summer holidays right? You could come and spend them with us.' He babbled, it was adorable and he was offering the one thing that she had wanted since she had been eleven and alone on a train travelling to a whole new world. She wanted to say yes in that moment, wanted so badly it hurt. But she stopped herself, she had Harry and Ron to think about. The silence over the phone was oppressive, and she wondered what Dean looked like, whether he disapproved of the invitation.

'I'll think about it Sam, I don't know if I can, if I'll be allowed. ' She realized that she probably wouldn't go, probably wouldn't even ask about it, and it made her want it more. She sighed deeply.

'You can come, you know. You're our sister and we would like to have you here, if only for the school holidays.' It was Dean and she knew that admission was a big one, that he would care about her, that she was theirs.

'I'll think about, yeah. I have to go, I l… yeah' she had almost said I love you, but remembered that the Winchester weren't one for blatant affection. Wanted to say it and mean it and have it said back, but knew that probably wouldn't ever happen.

'Yeah, alright. You stay safe and salt the windows and doors, and make sure you're parents know to do it too. And get some holy water. And protect yourself.' He was back to being gruff and practical and it made her miss him terribly. Miss it all, the guns, the blood and violence, the family. It had been simple because the bad guys were monsters that could be taken out with a bullet through the head, or a stake through the heart or a blade through the neck and weren't people with blood as red as hers or kindly professors that turned furry once a month but still called her the smartest witch of her age or traitors with names and stories. The world she lived in was hard and confusing and she wanted simple black and white when everything had been stained grey with humanity.

'Bye Dean.' The phone clicked dead and she breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at the body on her mother's kitchen floor. She needed to get rid of it before her parent's got home from work. She didn't want to involve the magic community, didn't trust the ministry of magic. She called the paramedics, told them of the man that had stumbled to the back door, and passed out on the door step when she had opened the door. How she had dragged him in and checked his breathing and pulse, but he still wouldn't wake up.

She arranged the man so he was lying comfortably, put a pillow under his head and sat down; she cried as she waited; great desperate sobs. The paramedics came and she met them with red dry eyes. They took the man away with no real problems, with no evidence left that he had ever been there. They were gone an hour before her parent's arrived home.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer : I don't own Harry Potter or Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from any of this, it's all just writing practice. **

**A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews my inbox was all filled up. Hmmm that sounded vaguely dirty. **

**Chapter 2**

Days later she was packed and waiting to be picked up, to go off to Grimmuald place and not see her parents for another year. It was heart wrenching and she wondered again whether she was doing the right thing when her mother gave her another tear filled look; a look that asked for her baby back.

But that wasn't something she could give. Her parents were practically strangers to her. Growing up she had spent six months of every year with her father in America learning of the horrors that were lurking in the dark. She had spent her time in England trying to fit in, to pretend to be normal and always failing. She had spent awkward moments at dinner with her mother and her husband coming up with stories of normality that she didn't really understand to explain her father. It had been a double life that had pulled her into two different directions and that often left her raw and uncomfortable.

Then she had received her Hogwarts letter. She had been horrified at first; witches were gross; used body parts and sacrifice to perform spells that had only ever hurt and her father had killed several in her lifetime because they had been evil. Yet it had explained some of the more unusual things she had been able to do, things she had kept a secret. Things like changing the color of her clothes, becoming invisible just as a monster had rounded the corner where she had been hidden, healing her broken bones when there had been no help and she didn't have any choice.

It had explained so much, and she had become so excited. This was going to be something that would be able to help her father, keep her brothers safe. She wouldn't be useless anymore, wouldn't be told she had to stay in the car, more than research. This would help her fight.

She had gone to her father for what would have been her last long term stay what with boarding school. Had brought her letter and had shown him the minute they were safely tucked away in the hotel room; windows and doors barred with salt. She had shown him smiling, and he had gone still and pale and looked at her like she was a monster. That had hurt. She had tried explaining that it would help them, he had said it was wrong, no child of his would do any kind of dark magic. He had thrown holy water on her and she had stood there and cried, dripping wet and miserable as her father yelled an exorcism that wouldn't work, couldn't possibly because there was nothing wrong with her. Her brothers had stood there, watching in fear, dean in front of Sam as if to protect him from her.

She had locked herself in the bathroom and refused to come, had ended up sleeping in the stained bath and had gotten him to put her on a plane the very next day, he hadn't argued, no goodbyes were said. She had gotten on the plane without a backward look and hadn't spoken to him since; wouldn't be able to speak to him ever again.

There was a knock at the door and she jumped up to answer it, anything to get away from the looks. She hadn't told her mother about his passing. Hermione knew what her mother thought of John Winchester and it had never been anything good. She had only ever been allowed to see him grudgingly, and there had been no further mention of the man when she had arrived home from her last visit, inconsolable and heartbroken. As far as she was concerned it had been good riddance.

Professor Lupin stood on her doorstep, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, he looked odd to her. There was nothing wrong with what he was wearing but it made him look younger, less like a professor; which may have been the point considering he hadn't taught her in over two years. At his feet was a big black grim like dog. Why Sirius was in dog form had her rather confused. She had thought that since he'd been cleared the year before after the battle at the ministry he would have wanted to lord his new freedom over all and sundry. Although considering his image had been shown on the muggle news as a dangerous escaped convict it wasn't that surprising that he wanted the anonymity.

Hermione smiled in greeting and opened the door further and gestured them through to the kitchen.

'Hermione dear, how have you been?' Remus Lupin had always struck her as a kind gentle man. It had shocked her greatly when she had realized the man was a Werewolf. In third year when she had figured it out, she had started to carry around a silver knife, just in case. She had waited though, not wanting to hurt the kind professor, but knowing that she might have to. Her father had taught her not to have mercy, that a monster was a monster. He had also deemed her to be evil when he had found out she was a witch, and she had wanted him to be wrong about her professor as he was wrong about her. So she had waited.

At the end of third year in those moments when she had thought he had betrayed them by helping Sirius she had felt like such an idiot, felt stupid for trusting a beast, had felt so relieved when it turned out she had been right all along, that her father had been wrong. She had been ready to kill him, ready to push a silver blade between his ribs and pierce his heart. Of course she had felt remorse at the thought, at her conviction but it hadn't changed, hadn't gone away. She would have killed him for betraying them. Then she would have taken the blade to the man who would hurt her friends. The knowledge of what she had been willing to do for her friends gave her a new perspective, made her realize that Harry and Ron were it, she had chosen her family come hell or high water. It had been a big thing knowing that she would have killed these two men; and it didn't matter if they were monster or not. It left the world a lot greyer but it proved to her that she really was her father's child. Family really was everything. She had forgiven her father just a little bit that day, not for the way he had treated her but for the way he had protected the boys from her, she couldn't really fault him for that not when she would have killed two innocent men just to protect her boys.

She had told her boys about her family after that night. They hadn't known about it, she hadn't been able to stand even acknowledging them. They had piled themselves onto Ron's hospital bed, careful of his foot, trying to be quiet so as not to be told off but needing the comfort of one another. She had made sure they knew where she had come from, what she had done, who she was. Why she had been so worried about expulsion her first year, frankly still was. This world was the only place she had ever truly belonged, she couldn't lose that and she would fight tooth and nail to keep it. In return Harry had shared about his home life, how horrible his relatives really were, the fact that he had been abandoned once when he was 5, how he had had to lie to the police that had taken him back, had said that he had run away and how loving his relatives were. He had gotten a week in that god forsaken cupboard for having the indecency to return. Ron had told them his fears of never being good enough, of his jealousies. That had become closer for it.

Remus coughed and she realized she had been staring. She gave a quick smile and bent to scratch Sirius behind the ears.

'I've been good, missed the boys. Are they both at the house?' She had missed them, had wanted to know that they were alright after the battle when they had all been injured and even though madam Pomphrey had healed them, there was always emotional scars. Especially Harry, he wouldn't have had a chance to come to terms with being possessed by Voldemort at his Aunt's house. She felt a flash of anger at those horrible muggles. Knew that if she ever got the chance she would make them pay, maybe put turn them into bugs and keep them in glass jars for years and years and see how they liked confinement, although that had already been done. Harry never said much about it, didn't like to mention it but once it was known it couldn't be unknown.

'Harry arrived yesterday, Molly already has him cleaning. Ron's been staying for a while.' She stopped scratching Sirius and stood up, brushing her hands down her Jeans. He gave a small whine and she laughed. Her first laugh since she had been accosted by the yellow eyed demon.

That thought sobered her and she turned to the kitchen, leading both man and dog. Her mother was being comforted by her husband. She couldn't stand to call him her father, not when her real one was dead and probably cremated. The man had been good to her once John had been out of the picture; she hadn't let him before that, had always let him know that he wouldn't ever be able to measure up to the great John Winchester. Guess they had both shown her. But he still wasn't her real father, that position would always only ever be held by one man, she couldn't fool herself otherwise, didn't want to, never had.

'Mum, Dad, this is Professor Lupin.' She stopped wondering how she would explain Sirius, hoping that he could have the chance to change back. She wanted to see him. He had been great to Harry and she had felt responsible for him since she had helped rescue him from the dementors.

'Remus, please. Hermione I haven't been your professor for two years. ' She gave her mother a sheepish smile. Her mother smiled back at her, relieved that her daughter seemed to be getting over the mood she had been in the last few days; Jealous that it took her magic friends to do it.

'And this mum is Sirius. He's a person really but he can turn himself into a dog.' She wanted to make her mother happy, wanted her to share in her excitement of magic, had always wanted to show her what she could do, so at least one person that counted would be amazed and proud. Remus gave her a sharp glance and she shrugged, she wanted to see Sirius. Sirius for his part gave a woof and started wagging his tail, calling all eyes to him. He gave a quick doggy shake and with speed that made the change blur stood Sirius Black escaped (innocent) convict. Her mother gave a startled shriek and her father yelled in shock and she laughed at their expressions.

The animagus ability had always intrigued her, she wanted to do it. Had started the process with her boys and couldn't wait until she would be able to change into an animal. It had been one of her dreams since she had been a child.

'That's fantastic.' Her parents were looking at Sirius in fascination. Hermione studied him while he answered their awed questions. He looked good, healthy. Obviously rats had been off the menu for a while. His eyes still looked haunted but at least he was smiling. She glanced at Remus who was watching Sirius intently. She smiled at the look, something was going on there. She wondered if they had started where they had left off, regardless of 13 years apart and estranged, or if this was new. It was very tragically romantic. Remus noticed her smiling at him and blushed adorably. Sirius noticed and gave her a cheeky grin. She laughed in joy.

After the obligatory tea, that had Sirius charming her mother to the point just past propriety, and Remus making her blush with his compliments they were ready to leave. Her father hugged and told her to be good, Her mother grabbed her and just about squeezed the life out of her, crying softly. She held her mother just as tightly, frozen in that moment in fear. Fear that they yellow eyed demon would be back, would take them from her, that the deatheaters would take them from her, that they would be gone. Two sides were closing in and she prayed that she would be able to get them through it all safely and none the wiser.

She had spent the last two days carving symbols of protection throughout the house, secreting them in places that they wouldn't be detected. She had painted salted water over the doors and windows. It was not something she had tested but she hoped that it would work, hoped that it would be enough. She had given her parents charms on necklaces as going away presents, had made them put it on to make her happy, could only wish she was allowed to do magic so that she could charm them so they couldn't be taken off. But she would send things home throughout the year with compulsions charms on them, to make her parents use them. Hopefully it could all wait until then.

'Wait Hermione, We have one last present for you.' Her mother rushed off back into the house and they all waited beside the door.

'How are we getting there?'

'Moony drove.' She looked at him in surprise, apparently not all wizards were clueless, she had feared, although more than likely he was an exception to the rule.

Her mother rushed back into the room with a box wrapped up in festive wrapping paper. There wasn't a card. It was thrust into Hermione's hands and she quickly ripped into it. She smiled in bemused delight at the box covering, and looked to her mother for more information.

'It's a project for you. I know there isn't any electricity at that school of yours, but I thought you being the great witch that you are that you might figure out how to mix the two.' Her mother looked hopeful and Hermione smiled brilliantly at the praise.

'Thank you mum. This is fantastic, I will definitely figure it out, then we can talk during school time and it won't just be letters. This is perfect.' It was a brilliant idea, it would definitely help in keeping her parents safe. Her mother quickly showed her how to use it, where her and her father's numbers were, what her own was.

The last hugs were given and Sirius turned back into a big black dog, and they drove off in remus's car.

'Is this your car?' Sirius was laying in her lap, and she tried to not think how strange it was, but continued to scratch him behind the ears and hoped he didn't like it too much. She giggled at the thoughts.

'No, it's Arthur's car. He got it recently and hasn't gotten to taking it apart yet, probably the only reason it's still drivable. I'm using it because Molly wouldn't have it anywhere near the house so he's got me looking after it until he can talk her into the madness.'

Hermione smiled at Arthur Weasley's penchant for oddness. It was a very endearing trait. She'd have to help him in the endeavor. A few subtle words about the safety of cars and it might just do some good. One never knew when a flying car would come in handy.

They took the drive in silence for the most part. Occasionally asking questions that fizzled out into silence, it wasn't strained per se but it certainly wasn't relaxed. She had always felt slightly awkward around Remus Lupin. The werewolf thing was a big part of that, the main part considering that the first man she had killed had been a werewolf. She tried not to think on it but Remus's presence always brought the man's last breath to her mind. She had been nine and her father had given her a pat on the head and told her she had done a good job. She had always done anything just to hear him praise her; her and Dean alike, but not Sam.

She sighed softly and buried her face in Sirius's fur. If he could lie across her lap then he could go ahead and give some good old fashioned doggy comfort as well. There were no tears not yet, not until she had her boys, but the sadness that kept creeping up on her as the memories, hardly thought on in at least a year surfaced and made her remember her time with her brothers and her daddy. Not all good, and not all bad but all theirs'.

Remus looked in the rearview mirror at the silent girl, met eyes with Sirius as he consented to being used as a pillow, would have smiled at the sight but at the look of her. She looked sad. The girl had always been bright and a sometimes a little too serious but he knew she loved both Harry and Ron, and the magical world. But it must have been hard leaving her family, literally for another world. He took comfort in the fact that they would be there soon, and then she would have Harry and Ron and the rest of the Weasleys; enough to cheer anybody up.

To be continued …


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Supernatural and am not making any money from this.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Okay I think I should do a bit of explaining, this is set after book 5 in Harry Potter; Sirius isn't dead because I didn't want him to be. It's set in the beginning of season 3 in Supernatural everything is pretty much as is up till the point where I will join the two. Hope that answers some questions otherwise everything will be answered as I go along.**

…**Angels should hug vampires; they'd explode because you know big freakin' holy item…**

**Chapter 3.**

Harry couldn't keep his foot from jiggling, he'd stretch it out and the other one would start. He and Ron had already been kicked out of the kitchen by Mrs. Weasley for violation of breaking the 'no _calmly_ waiting for their best female friend because it made her itch just watching them' rule. He thought it may have been number 47. So he and Ron had tried to wait in the library but had come across Dumbledore, Snape and Moody planning something obviously secretive from the way they had quickly clammed up about it when the door had been opened. Not exactly a shining example of spying technique that. For a minute he had been sorry they hadn't tried listening in first but it would have definitely cut into their waiting time. Besides the tension in that room wouldn't have done anything for their anxiety levels.

So they had sequestered themselves in Ron and his room, they had pushed the beds together so they could have more floor space. They were playing exploding snap trying to explode it in each others' faces; she would probably think it was amusing if one of them were missing their eyebrows when she eventually got here. Harry stretched his jiggling foot out again, wondering what was wrong with it. Consequently they were making a deafening racket, it had already awoken Sirius mothers' portrait who had screeched herself hoarse and would have still been going if Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt hadn't used some of their top notch auror skills to pull the curtain shut. Why they didn't just put a book case over her portrait Harry still hadn't figured out but he was sure there had to be a reason, maybe the harpy's voice was the only way any of the Black relatives could get to sleep at night. Though the lack of sleep that Sirius seemed to be getting with Remus still haunted him, a boy shouldn't see his guardians in that kind of position. He had made sure to knock on every single door from that moment forward. He would have warned Ron but had been quite interested in seeing the look on his face. The look they had shared after the fact had been strange enough that he felt quite happy to ignore it for now; Hermione would probably know what it meant.

Harry's distracted thoughts meant he had grown careless, Ron noticed with an evil grin that he tried to smother under a look of deep concentration, it didn't work and only made him look slightly demented but Harry failed to notice due to his distracting thoughts. The cards exploded with an accompanying mushroom cloud of smoke and Ron cheered at his own brilliance and tactical genius. Harry's soot covered face made for an amusing sight and he knew that Hermione would think it was hilarious.

Ron had missed Hermione, wanted to have her near to help distract him from the nightmares he had been having after the department of mysteries. He had a feeling the brains had something to do with it, always felt that there was something more to his dreams other than the typical nightmares of all his friends dead and the deatheaters victorious. He had been having those ones long before the brains but now they held a feeling of a deeper horror as if he couldn't possibly grasp the true horrors that lay before him. The glimpses that he got from just the after effects were enough; he didn't want to know what else was laying in his subconscious. It made him shiver just thinking about it. Harry gave him a slight frown but he shrugged it off. They had talked about it, jilted and strained; too much like sharing feelings without a female shaped buffer but he had made Harry understand why he was biting the heads off of everything that so much as moved in his presence after just having woken up. He was scared and being angry helped to mask that feeling. Harry had simply nodded and made sure to steer people around and away from him after that. He couldn't remember a moment he had been more grateful for his best mate.

She was taking her own sweet time about arriving though, probably talking books with Remus. The conversation would surely by difficult and educational and incredibly boring. They would probably be using massive amounts of big words at this very moment and the only way it could end would be to cut the conversation short. Of course if they did that they wouldn't have the chance to show each other the unending amounts of information they could fit into a single point and still possibly make it relevant. Therefore she was probably going to be late. He let himself feel a smidgeon of pity for Sirius at the thought, If they got to talking in the Kar he wouldn't be able to go anywhere without thumbs. Poor dog bound Sirius.

They both heard it at the same time, the distant sound of the front door closing, and they fell silent as they strained to listen. There was silence and then the distinct sounds of Mrs Weasley greeting one of her 'adopted' children. They stared at each other for a heartbeat before they broke and rushed as one to the door. They got in each other's way and fought to be the first out of the door way. Ron grabbed Harry's waist and sleeve, turned him and pushed just enough to get past. Having to fight with all his brothers growing up had at last been good for something.

They tore down the stairs Harry on Ron's heels, coming very close to tripping and sending them both tumbling on several steps. They reached the empty ground floor, and made the hairline turn to get to the kitchen. Harry pulled in front on the turn and rushed into the kitchen a second in front of Ron.

She was standing in front of the mostly seated, full kitchen. There was an order meeting to be held later that night after dinner so most everybody was present; The Weasley's including Charlie and Bill, Moody, Mundungus, even Snape was sitting in the back corner, familiar sneer firmly in place, possibly deepening at their harebrained entrance. They only managed to slow down as they plowed into her. It jolted her bodily but they clung on, one on either side and managed to halt any damaging momentum. They didn't do anything, just stood there and held her taking her all in, it wasn't until they felt her shoulders shaking that they realized she was crying.

Her boys held her and she couldn't hold back. Tears fell and she tried desperately to stop them but it was no use. She was standing in a room full of people that would care what was wrong, that would ask questions but she couldn't suck it up, couldn't stop for all the money in the world. Her father would have been disappointed. That thought made her completely let go, because he was dead and he would never be disappointed in her ever again. She buried her head in Harrys' neck and willed him to get her out of there, to take her away.

Harry for his part was panicking. He and Ron had been so excited that Hermione would finally be joining them. She had spent practically a month with her parents and all they had had were letters. They still hadn't been 100 percent convinced that she was back to full health. It was apparently a relevant fear given the way she was crying into his shirt; as if her heart had been broken. For one desperate second he worried that that was it, there was something wrong with her heart and she could only cry because she was dying and she didn't know how to tell them.

He shot a desperate look at Ron who met his eyes with the same confused horror. They moved themselves unconsciously to shield Hermione between them, to hide her from prying eyes, and protect her from the world even if she would always insist she didn't need it.

The room that had fallen silent at the outburst was filled with chairs being scraped backwards as the adults stood and started to move forward, trying to find out what was wrong, who was hurt, what had happened, what was wrong with Hermione. They dragged her backwards, away from everybody and the rest of the room could only stand there and feel helpless before the impenetrable force of the three teenagers and broken sobs.

'He's dead.' It was whispered around a sob into his neck so only he could possibly hear it. It sounded so broken that Harry had to swallow around the lump in his throat. This was their Hermione and he would've done anything in that moment to make it all better, to make the bad things go away and not be. A quick look at Ron and he knew he felt the same way. They met eyes and knew what had to happen, this had to be fixed.

'Ron.' Harry jerked his head towards the encroaching adults and he gave a short nod. Everything would be alright, they would sort this out, they would make it better. Fix it because it was broken and had to be fixed. Harry picked Hermione up into his arms and turned away from the rest of the room. He made the distance out of the room quickly and Ron was left to deal with the rest of the room.

He turned and stood in front of the doorway, trying for his best to look imposing even as his feet itched to be out of the room.

'Everything's fine, she's just been tired lately what with her injuries and there have been a couple of family issues with what happened at the ministry.' He hoped that wasn't it, she had said she was fine with the ministry, she was meant to be okay. Given that she had been the only one to try and talk them all out of going made the guilt gnaw at his insides.

'Let us find out what happened and don't go crowding the room.' He looked around the room and deemed that they would be safe for at least a little while, until his mum became too worried and came up with food.

'I'll come down to get us food later. I'll tell you all what I can when I do.' With that he picked up Hermione's trunk. Crookshanks had apparently been released upon entry, the cat was nowhere to be seen, although given the state of its owner would no doubt turn up before the night was through.

He made his way up the stairs as quickly as the cumbersome trunk allowed, he was desperate but he wasn't going to leave it downstairs to be rifled through in search of answers.

Harry had placed her on the bed and had fallen down beside her when she hadn't let him go. He choked for a minute until she loosened her grip so he could just hold her. Ron entered the room and pulled her trunk in behind him, he shut the door and placed the trunk in front of it, it would at least give them some warning. He met Harrys' eyes over her shaking head he looked as clueless as he felt. He quickly clambered over the pair of them and wriggled himself behind Hermione. He hugged her from behind and she leant her back into him. It was enough, they had gotten her away from prying eyes, now they just had to wait for her to stop crying so they could go and destroy what ever had made her start in the first place.

Harry mouthed something but it was lost on him, he had never been able to read lips, had always been better with silent conversations using body language. Not something that could be muddled up with words.

Harry mouthed 'she said he's dead.', but only got the confused look that was so often in place during classes. No wonder the teachers yelled, it was a frustrating look. He shrugged and looked down at her, determining that they would just have to wait until she was up to telling them what was going on. Though the sentence 'he's dead' seemed to be pretty self explanatory, and obviously from her reaction he had to be someone she had loved very much. He hoped it wasn't Crookshanks, he had had a soft spot for the beast ever since finding out how much trouble he had been for Peter Pettigrew in rat form. It brought a warm fuzzy feeling to his chest every time.

Ron was starting to get a bad feeling, worse than watching his friend break down. This level of reaction wouldn't have been for anything small, this wasn't over a lost book. He could only remember Hermione crying like this on one previous occasion. That time she had been talking about her father at the end of third year. It had been an emotional night but her tears had been for one man and one man only. He began to simmer in anger, wondering what the bastard had done now. Expelling his own daughter from his family apparently hadn't been enough. Merlin he would have loved to hit the man.

'Hermione.' Harry's voice was quiet and soothing, the one you used on a scared trapped animal, or Hermione during exam periods. She had slowed her crying and was down to sniffling and the few leaking tears. 'Hermione, can you tell us what happened?'

'He's dead,' She repeated her words from earlier and Harry sighed at the unhelpfulness of the statement. He'd gotten that part. He looked at Ron and stopped at his horror stricken look. He squeezed her tighter and mouthed words to him that he wished he hadn't. 'Her father.'

Now harry understood the pain, the complete loss that this brave, beautiful woman was going through. Harry had never felt that extreme loss, not when it was so fresh, he had never known his parents had only ever had the ache of missing something that he had never had, it was enough. This was worse in a way, given how much Hermione had loved her father, had worshiped the very ground he stomped on. Harry didn't understand it, just knew the truth of it.

'Oh love.' And she was gone again, sobbing and muttering unintelligible words.

They lay there for what felt like hours until Harry's arm had gone numb and Ron had dozed off. Hermione sat up slowly, wiping the snot and gunk from her face. She probably didn't look very presentable although she wasn't too sure she cared.

Harry nudged Ron awake and he sat straight banging into Hermione. Harry sat himself up as well, hugging her around the shoulders as she leant into his side.

'Tell us what happened.' And she did, she told them about the yellow eyed demon and finding out her father had been taken to Hell all to save her brothers. How the bastard had asked her to join him, seeing as her family didn't love her wouldn't she want to get some revenge on the one's left alive? How she had stunned him and the demon had left and how she had had to get rid of a stunned body from her kitchen floor before her parents had made it home, how she had talked to her brothers, how they had asked her to stay with them, how she wanted to go.

'Then go.' It was Ron who voiced what they had both been thinking. The story was amazing but not so surprising given their luck. Ron still occasionally had nightmares involving demons from what Hermione had mentioned but he knew she needed this, would always regret it if she didn't. It wasn't a choice because there wasn't an alternative.

'What about the two of you?' Hermione looked between the both of them and they shrugged as one.

'We're big boys, I think we can manage alright until you come back for school.' Harry tried for nonchalant but needed to remind her that although they would be fine with her going for the holidays they needed her, would need her at school and for adventures. Who was going to mock deatheaters besides Ron if she didn't come back? He took a breath and eased himself back from a panic because Hermione needed them to be strong. Ron gave him an amused look and he shrugged; like he hadn't been thinking the exact same thing.

'You'll stay out of trouble?'

'Where's the fun in that, although we may just see fit to do our homework before you come back.' It was Ron's way of saying that he was alright with her leaving, would support her through it but would need her to come back just the same.

'What if they say it's too dangerous?' By that she meant Dumbledore, if Dumbledore said no then Mrs. Weasley would say no which would put a definite hamper on the plan. She didn't have faith in Dumbledore not to say no. Not after what he had done, what he had kept from them. Not after the prophecy.

'Hermione, you need to do this. If they say no then we'll go to Sirius. He'll make you a portkey no matter who disagrees. We'll say it's a challenge on the marauder honor, you know he won't be able to resist. Then it'll just be a matter of us creating a diversion and then you can sneak off.'

'Really.' Ron assured her at her unsure look.

'The portkey is going to be the hardest, what if Sirius says no?' She had caved and they knew it, always knew it when she started talking logistics.

'Cry on him. It's terrifying.' They all laughed at that, a nice cleansing feeling that left them all that little bit lighter, happier that they could still joke regardless of the situation.

'It'll work, you'll just have to get in contact with your brothers get them to give you a destination, organize a place for you to meet.' Ron knew about portkeys, knew that it was a good plan, even if Sirius had to do it illegally. If he could set it to return on command then there was no way she could be caught by the authorities, just needed a destination away from muggle eyes and there wouldn't be any way the American authorities would know, unless of course she portkeyed into a restricted zone, but surely there were maps that showed that kind of thing.

'Alright if you're both sure.' Because she needed them to push her into it, wouldn't have been able to go on her own, needed to anyway.

'We're sure. As long as you promise to be safe, and take precautions and your wand and destroy anything that even looks at you funny, and watch out for guns because its America and its filled with guns, and monsters because your brothers hunt them…' Harry would have gone on but for the two palms placed over his mouth. He had gotten it into his head since the ministry of magic that what could get them would. Given their history so far it wasn't that farfetched, but his scenarios became more amusing the more he went on. It made Hermione think that Voldemort really did have an imagination and he had passed it on during his possession.

Harry licked the palm over his mouth and Ron squealed in disgust yanking it away. They laughed and settled themselves lying down again, holding onto each other.

'Hermione, tell us about your father.' Harry asked because she needed to. She smiled sadly but at least it was a smile.

'He was an arse, mean and hard and such a good man, loyal and strong and a bloody big hero. Mum hated him, I'd spend six months in America and mum hated it, wouldn't have let me go if she thought I would put up with that, if I hadn't wanted it so bad. Things were so different with him. He didn't have a house, just the impala. It was the most beautiful blackest car you've ever seen and we all lived in motel rooms, a different town every week; always in the car, always driving.

Dean would sit in the front with dad; singing or silent depending on dad's mood and me and Sammy in the back doing homework or talking about England. He'd always grill me on life in England, if it hadn't pissed dad off so much I'd have thought it amusing. Dad would either be silent or be telling these stories and quizzing us on survival techniques, all towards the hunt. He made up this game where we had to pretend to be police officers or salesman, anything to get us in the door and get our questions answered. The boys were better at it because they were older and had more experience but I always had the most fun. It always had to be believable and if we did good enough he'd give us a good job. He encouraged lying; it was the greatest thing ever.

He taught me to shoot; to aim for the chest because it was the bigger target or the head if you really wanted the thing dead. He taught me knives and fighting and how to win against something bigger than you, and exorcisms, fire, holy water, digging up the dead; all little tricks that would help you do the job the quickest and smartest way possible. Dean and Sam would train me up in it all with him watching but he always told me everything first, would initiate me into it all.

He introduced me to the monsters. The scariest things around, and I never felt safer then when he was there with his shotgun staring down everything that dared to come up against him. He taught me research, Sam and I excelled. It always for him, he always put that little extra drive in us. He gave me my love of books.

When I'd get home I'd always be different, just that little bit more secretive, more wary. Mum hated it, because I'd spend the first 3 months home reliving it all, and wanting to be back, and the next 3 waiting and envisioning all the new adventures. It hurt her that I didn't love her as much, and her husband Jerry was always so jealous because I never let him forget that I wasn't his, never let him pretend. I remember going through one year where I wouldn't be addressed as granger, would only answer to Winchester; then I got the lesson on secret identities and fake names and I didn't mind so much.

The Winchesters were family first; it was hard and claustrophobic and beautiful. The family was all that mattered and it was an honor to be a part of it. I wanted to be a part of that forever and always.' She sighed softly.

'When I got home that last time, I don't think I ate for a week, made myself sick. Then I called Dean and he said to give it just a little bit more time. I kept calling until I realized just a little bit more meant never. Didn't realize for a month because it was such a foreign concept that the Winchesters would let go of one of their family members but there it was, I mean I wasn't really one of them anyway.'

Hermione trailed off and the room fell silent as the boys digested everything she said, they didn't like the Winchesters and wouldn't have let her go but for the love in her voice when she spoke of them, knew she needed this, if only for closure. Hoped in a way that it would go badly so she could be theirs and theirs alone, prayed that it would work out so she no longer hurt.

They were silent for a long time until Hermione looked around the room. Harry raised his eyebrows in questions; because he couldn't do just one yet.

'Why are you sleeping together.' She meant the beds and it made both boys blush as they met eyes and hastily looked away. She laughed and they had no choice but to join in, embarrassed as they were.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Supernatural do not belong to me.**

**Thanks for the reviews, hope you enjoy this one even if it is a little longer.**

**Chapter 4:**

Ron woke later that night, Hermiones' hair in his face, Harrys' leg sprawled over the both of them. He would've been embarrassed, could already feel his ears go red hot, but was too comfortable to really care. His stomach growled loudly and he groaned because it meant he had to move, it wouldn't be ignored now that the monster was awake. As quietly as he could he began the tedious process of extraction.

It wasn't until he sat up in victory that he noticed the useless lumps were awake and watching him. He gave them a dirty look and they laughed. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth reluctantly. Hermione rolled over and buried her head in Harrys' chest in an effort to muffle her laughter, as Harrys' own shoulders shook. It was a beautiful sight.

He left them in the dark room, lying on the pushed together beds, huddled together. He snuck his way down the stairs; skipping the stairs that creaked, and made it to the kitchen without being stopped. He halted outside the closed door and sighed in defeat, he had been hoping that it would be late enough that everybody would have gone to bed; no such luck.

He opened the unlocked door and the kitchen fell silent as they all turned to watch him. Sirius and Remus, his mum and dad, Bill, Charlie, Dumbledore, Mcgonagal, Snape, Kingsley, and Tonks all sat around the table, cups of tea before them. The rest had gone home, probably had families. He stood in the door awkwardly as they all stared at him, waiting.

'Mum, reckon we could do with some food.' He rippled the tension but it remained unbroken. His mum obliged him however and began to bustle about the kitchen.

'Well?' Ron jumped at Sirius' sharply barked question. He shuffled guiltily, something about having every adult with authority over him all in the same room, looking at him. They'd probably been talking about all the trouble the three of them had gotten into, in their entire Hogwarts stint.

'She's alright now, slept for a bit, calmed down.' The 'well what' had been swallowed with relative ease.

'What was wrong? She was fine at her house.'

'It's her father.'

'Her father looked fine.'

'Not that father.' Sirius growled in frustration. Ron fought not to grin, needling showed you cared.

'Mr Weasley, if you would be so kind as to enlighten us all.' Dumblebores' softly spoken, compelling words took the emotion out of Rons' face. He turned to the man and stared at him. It was a disconcerting look and he didn't say anything, just watched the old man's twinkle slowly wither and die.

'Ron.' His father's voice held a note of warning and he shrugged unconcernedly as he looked away. They were in the middle of a disagreement with the old man, wouldn't do to have him forget about it. The three of them hadn't yet discussed what to say so he was going to have to be careful, but the adults needed to know enough to let her go.

'I'm surprised you didn't know professor. She lives with her stepfather. Her birth father was an American.'

'Was?' This from Remus his voice wary as came to the depressing realization.

'Yeah she only just found out he died, she talked to her brothers just before you picked her up.' It was a lie but it made enough sense that nobody called him on it.

'She has brothers?' This from his mother, her tone was slightly accusatory and he winced, almost visibly. Cleaning was in his future, great bouts of punishing cleaning; Trelawney would have been proud of his inner eye.

'Yeah they're a few older then her; around Bills age.' He nodded at his brother. Both Bill and Charlie were looking at him strangely, if he hadn't known better he would have thought it was a look of respect, pride, but that was too odd to be true.

'How did none of us know about this?' Mcgonagall looked at Dumbledore in expectation. Ron had an unending number of answers to that question; incompetence was among the top ten, not caring about anything but the weapon Harry was meant to be, was ranked slightly higher.

'It was private.' Ron shrugged; it really was.

His mum gave him a tray with three plates piled high with the nights warmed up dinner. He grabbed the food, smiled at his mum and turned to go.

'Mr Weasley, please give our condolences to Miss Granger.' Ron didn't turn to look at Dumbledore just stopped in the door.

'I'll be sure to mention it too her.' He kept his voice flat and made his way out of the room, back upstairs to the other two who set on the food like ravenous beasts, and Hermione criticized his eating habits. He watched as some gravy spilt down her chin; he wondered if it was strange to find that cute. From the look Harry wore probably not.

Back in the kitchen Severus Snape was listening to the tediousness that was the idiots he had to work with. They continued to go on about the Granger girls' problems, panicking because she had broken down and cried. She was a sixteen year old girl; it was his understanding that they spent a good part of their time crying. Of course the father was a new factor, it was always bloody something with those three.

He wished for the thousandth time that he could just knock them all out and lock them in a room where he could look in on them; there wasn't any way he would ever actually be in the same room willingly. It would make his job so much easier. If they were locked away they couldn't get into trouble, if they were unconscious they wouldn't be able to talk.

He felt the guilt gnaw at him as it always did when he thought on the children. It was his fault they were hunted so, he hadn't been able to save Lily, couldn't bring himself to be a better man to her boy. Was the only deatheater amongst the order; and was therefore responsible for keeping them alive. He should have been able to do more, to stop things and save people and play hero instead of hiding and watching and doing nothing. Yet that was his job, to keep his position as a spy so he could be useful.

The deatheater meetings had been going on for a year now; since the end of the boys fourth year. He had been punished for not attending the first meeting, been punished for being a spy, for not having the decency to rot in Azkaban. He had had fourteen years to become used to relative freedom; it had left him weak. It had been difficult to return to the spying mind frame, had been difficult to hold himself together after having been tortured; never giving anything away, always trying to learn something new, something useful, always dodging suspicion. His bones ached; he wasn't much over 40 and already he felt like an old man. He was tired.

His patience had never been unending; he allowed a smirk at that slight underestimation. They continued in their unrelenting prattle and he could feel a migraine slide in behind his eyes.

'Poor dear, she must be feeling just awful.' Molly Weasley and her unending sympathy for the brat faced ones. Of course she was feeling bloody awful; she had broken down and cried in front of everybody. From the girl he had taught for that last five years she wouldn't have done that unless she had been dying or apparently when her father was dead.

'It was strange though, her mother didn't say anything, I would think that she would have warned us.' The Werewolf had a tone of injured innocence as if he couldn't understand how somebody could not bare their soul and private thoughts to him the moment he walked through a door. He rolled his eyes and it didn't help his head any.

'Maybe the boy was telling the truth when he said that it was private.' All eyes stared at him and he regretted opening his mouth immediately. He saw Sirius bristle sharply and he sighed. He was too old for this, for all of it. A school boy grudge that had caused him to make some of the biggest mistakes in his life, it was tedious. He wanted it all to end. They had all been through hell, they were old and war weary, and even if bickering with Sirius was cathartic at times, he just wanted it over. He was so tired.

He stood up abruptly; he didn't think he could take another second in the claustrophobic room. He had been staying at Grimmuald place; couldn't stand to go back to his own home. It wasn't lived in, depressing. Although he hated it he knew he needed to be around people; good people, that excluded his former comrades. He wanted to relax; and loathe as he was too admit it, he was able to relax among the order, suspicious looks aside.

'The girl is grieving, obviously. Leave her dunderheaded friends to see to her. I also suggest you don't try and comfort her.' He directed himself to Dumbledore. The headmaster had done something at the end of the year and it had not been forgiven by the children. It always amused him to see anybody go up against the old man; always had. The fact that it was his precious boy-who-lived made it even sweeter. 'Let the mutts take care of them, but give them their space.' He ignored Sirius growl, and left the room; see if he cared if they took his advice; nobody ever listened to him.

The next day Hermione made her way to the kitchen flanked by Harry and Ron. In the morning light she had been mortified at her behavior the night before, crying in front of the order. Oh god and Snape, he was never going to let her live this down. She gripped Harry's shirt at the waist, he looked down at her and smiled gently, reassuringly; nothing was going to hurt her because her boys were there and they wouldn't ever let anything bad touch her. She breathed easier, and snagged the bottom of Ron's shirt with her other hand.

They stepped into the room and nobody stopped, the room was filled with Weasley children concentrating solely on their food. The boys sat her down between them at the table and they filled each others' plates, reaching for whatever was closest without being asked.

Charlie finished his eggs and last bit of toast. Food finished and plate depressingly empty but stomach happily full he looked up and was free to acknowledge the rest of the room. He stared at Hermione. She looked embarrassed but healthy. He leant forward across the table and received her attention.

'You alright now?' He winced at how blunt it sounded but he meant well and was sure Hermione would understand that. He frowned as she dropped her head onto the table. Harry moved her plate of food out from under her just in time to save it.

'Mass obliviate, it's the only answer.' The words were mumbled and he blushed; a horrible clashing shade of red. Ron shot him a dirty look and he shrunk down in his seat; it wasn't his fault she didn't understand his kindheartedness. She looked up and stared him straight in the eye. She looked at all of them, somehow catching all of their eyes.

'Here is what we are going to do. You are going to forget last night ever happened. I didn't cry, it didn't happen. No asking if I'm alright, or if it's going to happen again. I read, a lot. You wouldn't believe the massive amounts of spells I know.' The threat was as clear as a bludger to the head and she looked directly at Charlie, until he nodded at the scary girl. His little brother was a lot braver than he gave him credit for.

'Did what happen?'

'We didn't see a thing.' The twins smiled mischievously and Hermione smiled gratefully back at them. At least she could count on the twins, course now she probably owed them.

Snape flung the doors wide; dramatic as ever. He stomped into the kitchen and ignored them all. The Weasleys and Harry were used to the spectacle but Hermione stared at the man as he flicked his wand and made himself what looked to be the strongest cup of tea that could be consumed. He made his tea and made his way abruptly out of the room his distinctive bat swirl missing as he was only in black trousers and a black wool jumper. The doors slammed shut and Hermione stared at the door then at Ron waiting for answers.

'He's not a morning person.' The table snorted in disbelief.

'I know that. What is he doing here?' she wondered how they were all taking this so calmly. Usually even the topic of Snape was incredibly explosive. Ron shrugged his shoulders, but it was Charlie that answered.

'He's been staying here, Dumbledore made Sirius invite him. He mostly ignores us. Don't go changing that.' His voice was accusatory and she straightened herself in indignation; ready to launch into a lecture on how she was always respectful to teachers; unless of course they deserved otherwise. Harry touched her arm and shook his head. He put her plate down in front of her and nudged it in an inviting manner. It really was too early. Hermione sent Charlie a dirty look that seemed to cow him and she felt a smidgeon of satisfaction.

Scary, scary little witch.

The three finished their meal and let themselves into the living room, closing the door behind them and settling themselves on the one uncomfortable formal couch. They twitched around for a few minutes trying to find some form of softness in the tailored upholstery before giving it up for a lost cause. Hermione flung herself onto the floor and the boys followed laying themselves in a pile.

'So what's the plan?' Hermione asked her boys, they usually had something up their sleeves.

'You go find a phone, talk to your brothers and get them to give you a destination; coordinates would be useful, we ask Sirius to make the portkey and then you pack and leave.' Harry's voice was getting sleepier as he talked. He moved his head from the floor to her stomach. She grabbed it and pulled it up slightly, moving it off her bladder. He smiled and she rolled her eyes.

'And how am I going to get out of the house without them all knowing.' She rolled her shoulders in discomfort, before pulling Ron to move, so she could lay her back across his chest.

'We'll tell the twins we need a distraction; they won't ask questions.' Ron shuffled under Hermione's back and folded his arms behind his head, pushing her mass of morning knots away from his face so as to remain breathing.

The door opened and Hermione cracked one eye open. Ginny looked at them in disgust before rolling her eyes and flouncing out.

'Close the door.' The door slammed and she snuggled herself back to sleep.

Remus pushed the door open quietly. He had stumbled in on them earlier and had rushed out of the room silently, searching for Sirius. He had found him in their room and had pulled him up, snatched up his camera and dragged him down to the children.

'Don't you think they're getting a little too old to do that.' Sirius was getting uncomfortable just watching them. That floor was not soft.

Remus shrugged unconcernedly as he moved his camera around in order to get the best angle. Harry was hugging Hermione around the waist, face buried in her stomach, a line of drool connecting them. Hermione was twisted in an uncomfortable looking way as she had tried to roll over onto her stomach but for Harry holding her torso. Ron looked like he was about to be choked by hair, his face buried in the brown tangle.

Remus snapped his photo, the flash blindingly bright and all three sprang up. Hermione had her wand out, kneeling behind Harry who had his wand out and in front of Ron; who had his wand out. All three held them steady and pointed dead centre at the two wizards. They saw who it was and all the tension leaked out of their bodies, their hands went slack and they dropped back onto the ground trying to find their lost comfort.

'Go away.' Remus and Sirius just stood there, frozen at the speed and danger they had just put themselves in. Sirius began to frown at the unfairness of it all; they were only children they shouldn't have had to have reactions like that. It wasn't fair.

'It's 10.00 in the morning, wake up.' Remus used his best professor voice but was disappointed when they only snorted. He pouted, he had practiced that voice.

Harry smudged his face in his little pool of drool and shuddered in disgust. He sat up and rubbed his face dry. He looked at Hermione a little guiltily wondering how he could dry her and leave her none the wiser. Hermione looked at him as if she could feel his guilt and looked down at her shirt. Her nose crinkled in disgust.

'eww Harry you got me all wet.' Harry blushed. Sirius and Remus snickered, and were followed shortly by Ron.

'Boys.' Hermione sniffed in disappointment and sat herself up.

'Sirius, I need you to make me a portkey.' The boys sat up around her and they all looked at Sirius expectantly. Ron probably would have gotten Sirius on his own before asking, but it was done now.

'What do you need a portkey for?' Remus always worried about reasons.

'I need to go see my brothers, go to my father's funeral.' Harry winced at the bluntness in her voice. Sirius needed to hear her emotion, he needed the damsel in distress routine, otherwise he'd be taken over by good sense and the following of rules. Harry briefly wondered if he had been the damsel when Sirius had rushed into the department of mysteries last year but quickly dismissed it. Hermione had been there too.

Sirius looked to Remus and Harry quickly nudged Hermione's leg. She got the hint quickly and he watched in awe as tears welled in her eyes, making them shine and somehow bigger. Her lip trembled and he could feel himself be sucked under by its power. He needed to comfort her, she was hurt and sad and he needed to make it all better. He yelped in surprise as his hip was pinched from behind. He gave Ron a grateful look and faced Sirius and Remus.

Sirius was quietly panicking, the distress was easy to read in his face, Remus was harder. He had been a teacher and had dealt with the tears of many females for a whole year. But this was Hermione, someone he knew, one of his pups.

'Please Sirius, I just want to say goodbye to my Daddy.' She felt a single tear run down her cheek. She was very close to letting this be real. Her tears weren't as empty as she had hoped after last night.

'Alright, we can make you a portkey, you'll have to give us the destination and then we'll set it to return to the house in one month. Will that be enough time?' Sirius was nodding at Moonys' words.

'That would be perfect, thank you. I'll get the destination as soon as I can.' Hermione breathed a sigh of relief; that was the easy part. Her stomach fluttered in discomfort as she realized she would really be off to see her brothers very soon. Her Hand started to tremble and she buried it in Harry's shirt, feeling the warmth of his stomach.

'When can you have it done?' Ron steeled himself to the long month ahead, it was so long, and when they only just gotten her back. At least they would have some time before they had to go back to Hogwarts.

'If you give us the destination today, we can have it for you ready to leave tomorrow morning.'

'Will the ministry know?' Harry was worried because if the ministry knew then the deatheaters would be able to find out.

'No, no that wouldn't be the best of ideas. We'll do it outside of the ministry and as long as you don't portkey into a wizarding controlled area then the American's won't know either.' He carefully didn't use the words illegal.

'Will I be able to use magic?' Harry and Ron tightened slightly at that.

'As long as you don't perform magic around muggles other than your family, don't do anything illegal or anything to draw attention to yourself and you should be fine.'

Remus and Sirius left, talking about what they would need to make the portkey, what books they had as a reference point, it wasn't everyday they made an international portkey that would need to return on command.

'Hermione, are you sure doing magic around your brothers would be the wisest thing?' Harry wanted to tread carefully, he knew she would react badly to anyone insulting her brothers but from his understanding the Winchester men were not exactly freethinking individuals. He needed her to be careful.

'I won't be using it, but I'd rather have the option and not need it then need it and not have the option.'

'Okay, now how are we going to get the address?'Ron itched to be doing something, anything to not think about her leaving them.

'You will both stay here and cover for me. Get the twins to provide a distraction anyway but if they come looking for us explain I'm in the bathroom or something.'

Harry nodded at the plan, he didn't like her going out by herself but they would notice a lot sooner if Harry went and Mrs. Weasley would know immediately if Ron went. Besides if Hermione didn't return in a prompt manner they could always tear after her.

The twins were recruited and everything was set. Explosions were set off in one of the upstairs bathrooms and Harry and Ron pushed everybody from the front rooms to look at what had happened. Snape poked his head from his room, glared at them all for making noise and slammed the door to keep them all away.

Hermione slipped out the front door, and quickly made her way down the street. She had worn a grey hoody and had it pulled up over her hair, hiding herself from anybody in Grimmauld place who decided to look out a window. She didn't want to make it too obvious.

She walked calmly down the street, glad to be outside; the weather was cold but clear, it made it much easier to breath after the stale air of Grimmauld place.

The phone box she had spotted on the drive over was a few streets away, she took as many of the back alleys as she could. It was longer and she sometimes had to backtrack but it made her feel better to know that she a second route back if needed.

She reached the payphone outside the small corner store. The two arguing men behind the counter ignored her and she picked up the phone, dialing the memorized numbers quickly.

'Hello.' The voice was groggy with sleep and she felt bad for a minute for not checking what time it would be over there.

'Hi Dean.' She made sure she stood as straight as she could. The phone box was old, dirty and filled with spiders, but as long as the phone worked she didn't care much.

'Hermione, what's wrong?' Dean's voice sounded alarmed, caring. It made her uneasy, wondering what had happened, could tell that it was something.

'Nothing, I'm fine. You said I could come see you?' She hoped they hadn't changed their minds, couldn't take it if they rejected her again.

'Yeah, yeah that would be good.' Dean didn't sound positive, sounded tired and weary and hurt. Her heart fluttered but she ignored his tone, this was for her, she had to do this and they could either like it or lump it but she was going to be there either way.

'I need you to give me an address, somewhere safe where they won't freak out about me appearing out of thin air.' She didn't want to tell them anything about the magic, already worried that her mode of transport would make them skittish, wouldn't have told them if she had had a choice.

'You're using magic to get here?' His voice sounded harsher and she could feel her anger rise. This was a bad idea, if she couldn't stay calm even over the phone she didn't know how she was going to manage with any disapproving looks.

'Yes Dean, I am.' Her voice was harsh and she took a breath, held it and let it out. Calm, she could be calm.

'Alright. Come to Bobby's. Do you remember him?' She remembered Bobby, he had always given her the best sweets whenever they would visit, had loved his dogs. He had given her a cap that she still had hidden in the bottom of her trunk.

'Yeah I remember him. Can you give me co-ordinates. You sure he won't mind.' Because she also remembered his shotguns, didn't want to get pumped full of buckshot, or any kind of shot for that matter.

'Sure, suppose you need them so you don't end up in a river or something.' She hmmd she really wasn't going to get into the technicalities of Portkeys over the phone. Dean rattled off the co-ordinates and she wrote them on the paper she had brought with her.

'Thanks Dean, I'll be there tomorrow at 12.00 your time. Is that enough time, will you be able to warn him by then?' She really didn't want to get shot.

'Yeah that should be fine. Well I'll see you then.' She hated this awkwardness, hoped it wouldn't continue throughout her visit, and knew that it probably would.

'Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow.' They said their quick stilted goodbyes and she listened to the dial tone for a couple of minutes before she snapped herself out of it.

She exited the red phone box and began the walk back to Grimmauld place. She was lost in her thoughts, worried about tomorrow, envisioning all the ways it could all go horribly wrong. She looked around herself and noticed the man standing down the street dressed in badly chosen clothes. His face looked familiar and she tilted her head, staring at him trying to remember where she had seen him before.

He met her eyes and smiled viciously, and it hit her suddenly. She cursed herself for being an idiot. Of course she would be accosted by Deatheaters. The man had been at the ministry, she had seen Luna stun the man but she hadn't seen him after that, apparently he had not gotten caught with the Lucius Malfoy and the rest.

The man waited for the cars to stop before he could cross the road. Hermione ran. She bolted back the way she had come and he chased her. He had longer legs and he quickly caught up to her, grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her into a narrow alley between two houses. He pushed her against the wall and held her there with his body.

'Hello little Mudblood, fancy meeting you here. What a small world.' She knew in that horrifying moment as she felt him hard and immovable against her that the deatheaters knew the order was around here. They probably couldn't find it because of the fidilius but they knew that the order lived in the area and she had walked straight into them.

He leant down and shoved his tongue against her closed lips, trying to force his way in. She clamped her jaw and refused to open, pushed her head back as he slobbered over her face. He grabbed her face and squished it between his squeezing hand; trying to pop her lips open.

She brought her knee up into his crotch, grinding it as hard as she could. He released her and clutched at his groin. She punched him as hard as she could in the nose, her knuckles splitting as they connected with hard cartilage.

His nose spouted blood and she smacked both hands over his ears, disorientating him. She leaned her back against the wall and kicked him solidly in the middle of his chest. He went down and she kicked him once more in the side of the head, trying to get him to stay down. He grabbed her foot and pulled, she stumbled but stayed on her feet, she kicked to get him off, heard his fingers break.

She ran out of the alley, shaken, mussed and sprayed with his blood. She looked around and spotted salvation. She looked back and he was getting to his feet. She rushed to the black cab, yanked the door open and scrambled in, sitting on the wide floor in front of the seat, pulling the door closed behind her, pushing the lock down.

The driver gave her a startled look, unmoving,

'Please drive.' She whimpered it, and he immediately turned the engine on. She glass was smacked and both she and the driver jumped in surprise. She looked at the blood covered, rage filled face pressed against the glass. The driver took off as fast as he could, the deatheater running beside the car until he could no longer keep up.

She let out a shaky breath; that had been close.

'What the bloody hell was that? ' The man's voice was deep and cockney and filled with anger at the situation.

'Mum's ex-boyfriend. The breakup was not pretty and he's been trying to find out where we moved too.'

'You live around here, anywhere that's safe that I can drop you off?' The driver softened his voice as he looked at her shaken form, still sitting on the floor of his cab.

'Yeah, turn left at the next corner.' She looked out the window, getting her bearings. 'Right at the second street, then a left at the third, drop me off there and I'll take the back way to the house.' He followed her directions and stopped next to the park outside Grimmuald place. She thanked him and he waved her off from paying him, it was his good deed for the day. Not often that he got to save a young lady, didn't want to see her in that kind of trouble again. He would warn the other drivers to keep a look out for the man. Hermione got out and thanked him, made her way into the park, and sat down on a bench out of sight. She watched the taxi drive off slowly and she tried to get her hands to stop shaking. She straightened her hair and clothes until she felt she was presentable, wouldn't do to alarm them all.

She walked to the house, and waited in front of number eleven, waiting for one of the boys to come and tell her where Grimmauld place was situated. She was inordinately glad for the fidilius even as her shoulder itched at being so out in the open.

Severus Snape suddenly appeared before her and she flinched backwards, jumpier than usual.

'You stupid bint, do you have any idea of the danger you just put us all in?' And she knew that he had known, that they had all known, and they hadn't told them, hadn't warned them. She snapped her mouth shut in fury, her anger at what she had just gone through magnifying everything. He grabbed her arm and she twisted out of his grip, batting his arm away as it came back up, putting her open palm into his solar plexus at the same time. He wheezed as his breath was forced out but did not go down, didn't even stop as he shoved a piece of paper into her hand.

She read the note and the house materialized, growing itself out from between number 11 and 13. She stormed forward, slamming the door open, Snape following angrily behind, not saying anything as he regained his ability to breath.

Harry and Ron came to stand beside her, checking her over for injuries, staring at her jaw that was already bruising with finger sized bruises. The adults present began to scream in unison and Hermione stood silent and stared at Dumbledore. Harry and Ron stayed silent, furious that somebody had dared to touch her.

'That was very foolish Miss Granger.' He sounded so disappointed and she almost spat at him.

'Excuse me for going outside. Excuse me for not predicting that Death Eaters would be out on the street, that they would be waiting, because they know where we are.' She ended screaming it at him, her fists clenched at her sides, her jaw aching.

The boys gasped and placed their hands on her back, running them up and down, searching, feeling for hidden injuries, not satisfied with just the sight of nothing wrong. She shrugged them off and they abated, there would be time enough later, when they were alone.

Dumbledore stepped forward and all three stepped back.

'You saw them, they saw you. Did they follow you, do they know where we are?' Dumbledore was angry, scared that everything had almost been ruined.

'No you're all safe as houses. I didn't just see him, he went and gave me a kiss.' She swallowed the bile that was rising. She needed to wash the stink of him off her.

Mrs. Weasley gasped, the boys tightened their grip on her and she felt a little better.

'Did you know, did you know they were out there? Did you know and not tell us?' Dumbledore said nothing and as she had suspected he had kept it from them. Nothing had changed he hadn't learnt anything from last years FUBAR.

'It was order business; you did not need to know.' Harry bristled.

'Obviously we did need to know, obviously we need to know because we are in this up too our necks and you just keep piling more on all the time.' Ron bit his words out, anger shaking him.

'We need to know that we are not allowed to go outside sir, need to know that there are men and women trying to kill us out the very door, in the streets of what is meant to be a safe house. It is not a logical assumption to think we wouldn't set a foot outside. You're way is not working, you are putting all those in this house in danger, find a better way or I will find one for you.' It was implied that whatever way she found he would not like. She moved forward and the adulst parted for her, Harry and Ron followed and they made their way up the stairs to their room. The last thing she heard was the surprising voice of Snape.

'What do you mean you didn't tell them, what was the point me finding the information if you weren't going to use it to keep them safe.'

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Supernatural.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, I really do appreciate it. You'll all be pleased to know that I now have a plan, and it's awesome if I do say so myself.**

**Chapter 5:**

Up in their room the three of them were talking quietly, planning what they would have to do. There really was no chance that Dumbledore would let her go if he found out about it now. They hoped Sirius and Remus wouldn't say anything; they didn't plan on informing anybody about it. It was always easier to ask forgiveness then it was permission.

Hermione had showered and washed all evidence that she had been touched from her body, the bruises remained but there wasn't anything she could do about that without going down and asking Mrs. Weasley for something to heal them. She didn't want to face the woman, face the sympathy.

Every now and again she could feel the eyes of her boys on her, looking at the marks but she didn't have the heart to stop them, wanted them to be angry about it, it wouldn't be as scary if they were all angry.

Ron went down to get dinner for the second time, when he returned he informed them that everybody was getting antsy with their lack of presence, they didn't much care. Harry went out and informed the rest of the younger members of the household about what had happened. Told them all about the dangers that were outside and that they should stay in the house. Ginny told him that they hadn't been left alone at all; Bill and Charlie had always been with them. They hadn't had any opportunities to use the front door. At least they were being taken care of even if they hadn't been told what was going on.

They slept in the same room, couldn't make themselves move not when they wouldn't be together again for another month. Hermione packed some things into an easier to carry bag, things that wouldn't remind her brothers of what she was.

She gave her boys her new phone number, told them that they were not to go the phone box for any reason, to find another phone in an emergency. It would be nice to hear from them but they were not to endanger themselves doing it. They agreed readily nobody specifying what classified as an emergency.

They woke early and had breakfast as fast as they could, Sirius, Snape and Remus sat at the table and watched them eat; it wasn't making them feel uncomfortable at all. When they finished Snape was the first to speak.

'I did not know that you had not been made aware of the house restrictions.' It was not an apology, would have been suspicious if he had made it one.

'The death eaters have guessed that we are in the vicinity of this area of London; Bellatrix found she could not remember the house's address and they became suspicious from there. They have been sending out search parties for the last few weeks. Those search parties will be more localized from now on. Dumbledore is working on organizing a new safe house, until then we all need to be very careful and make no more trips outside.' It was the most civilized they had ever seen Snape, speaking to them as if they were actual people. It left them stunned and unable to respond.

Remus grinned at their gobsmacked reactions to Snape's behavior. It had shocked him as well last night when the man had had a conversation with him and Sirius without once baiting or rising to any bait set forth. It had been a relief if he was honest, incredibly strange but a relief.

Hermione thought about informing the man that she was going to her father's funeral but hesitated, the less secrets he had to keep the better for him.

'Thank you sir.' Harry had a look of respect on his face and it was Snape's turn to look gobsmacked. Hermione smiled brilliantly at the both of them, inordinately pleased that they were both finally growing up.

'Any information that you can tell us would be greatly appreciated, you of all people know what we are up against.' Ron saw the opportunity for what it was, if they could have their own spy amongst everything then they stood a better chance of living through the whole mess.

'That goes for you two as well.' Hermione pointed at both Sirius and Remus, they were in the order and she understood they had loyalties to that but they were family, it made the loyalty they owed to them a lot more prevalent.

'Then in that sense the information must go both ways. We can't have you three going off on your own without informing somebody who has more information than you.' Snape was not going to be spy for a third group without getting something out of it in return.

'Tell us all that you can and we will tell you what we can. There will be something's that we will not tell you because of your work as a spy. It would be too hard for you if you were told all of our secrets and had to keep them, but we will try and tell at least one of you.' If they deemed it appropriate. Harry was still confused about how Snape had been included in all of this. Remus and Sirius he could understand; they were his guardians, he knew they were on his side, but he hadn't thought he would ever want, or have Snape on that same side.

'Those terms are agreeable.' Snape struck his hand out and all three of them stared at it. The man rolled his eyes in annoyance.

'When one makes an agreement, one shakes on it.' They were all idiots, it pained him to have to do this but he wanted them to at least graduate alive. Hermione was the first to shake his hand, followed hesitantly by the boys.

'I am going to visit with my brothers.' She said it quickly and hoped that it wouldn't get back to either side, hoped that her trust wasn't misplaced. Snape looked at her in surprise.

'And how do you plan to get there, I was lead to believe they lived in America.' Everybody was shocked that he was taking it so easily. It made Snape sigh; it was hard not to snap at them all.

'Sirius and Remus are making a portkey for me, It will bring me back in a month.' She looked at Remus who nodded to her and she felt relief course through her, she was really going to be able to go.

'And does your family know that you are a witch?' Snape watched the blank look slide behind her eyes and the harsh unhappy looks on the twits either side of her; Interesting.

'Yes they know.' They didn't like it but they knew.

'Very well, I take it you will not be informing the headmaster.'

'No sir, please don't tell him either, I need to go and I'll be back before school starts.' She was hopeful, looking to him for approval and it made something strange roll in his chest, he rubbed at it and hoped it wasn't the beginning stages of heart burn.

'I will not tell on you, but I suggest you leave a note so he does not spend the month hunting you down and dragging you back.'

'Thank you sir.' Harry twitched his lips alarmingly at him. Snape thought it vaguely looked like an attempt at a smile. He shuddered.

'Potter your remedial potions lessons will be starting this week, Weasley will be joining you, Miss Granger when you return you shall join them as well, there are books in the library I suggest you read something on the basics of the art, and I shall do my best to teach you the proper course. There will not be a repeat of last years incident.' Harry looked incredibly relieved, Ron looked worried and Hermione graced the man with a brilliant smile, he felt uncomfortable under its glare. He stood up and left the room without another word.

They looked at each other and grinned; this seemingly new Snape was fun, they wondered how long it would last.

Harry, Ron and Hermione held onto each other desperately. She wasn't just going away for a month she was going away for a month into a dangerous situation without her boys there to save her. It was a terrifying feeling but she had to, because it was family and they all understood that.

They stood there, huddled in on themselves until a cough brought them back. Sirius, Remus and Snape stood before them; all three looking uncomfortable at having walked in on such an intimate moment.

They separated slightly, still touching but far enough apart to allow daylight through, it was the best the adults were going to get.

'Alright Hermione, this is your portkey.' Remus held out a golden locket on a golden chain. He handed it to her by the chain.

'The locket is the portkey, you will need to touch it and say portus when you want to use it. It has only two uses. One to the destination you provided and the second is back here, to this room. You cannot touch it at any other time or it may go off just from will alone. I honestly haven't had much to do with such long distance portkeys and from what the book said they can be a bit temperamental. ' Hermione looked startled and he rushed to reassure her.

'It will travel safely, there is no problem there, it's all completely safe, it's just the trigger is a little bit jumpy. So we have this.' Sirius held out a small opal encrusted jewelry box with a little lock on the outside, it was beautiful.

'This box has magic dampeners on it, no magic will be able to get in or out of the box, so there won't be any way you will be able to activate it without unlocking the box and removing the locket manually.' Remus continued his presentation and gave a look of pride to the solution they had come up with.

'And you couldn't have just done the spell correctly in the first place and not fool around with boxes and all this foolishness.' Snape sneered at them all.

Hermione sighed as Sirius bristled and Remus looked embarrassed. Snape's good mood apparently hadn't lasted long.

'The box is very pretty and it's probably better than wearing this ugly thing.' Hermione smiled encouragingly at Remus, showing them how much she appreciated what they were doing. She was glad, the locket really was ugly and she would have hated to wear it, it made her itch just looking at it. She took the box from Sirius gratefully.

Then it was time, she was packed and ready to leave, she would perhaps be a little bit early to meet her brothers but if she didn't go now she never would. She kissed each boy on the cheek, had one last group bone crushing hug, thanked all three men and stood apart, alone, in the middle of the room. She held her bag tightly in one hand and gripped the portkey in the other.

'portus.' And she was gone.

'Well Fuck.' The words summed it up perfectly. Harry looked despondently at the spot where their friend had been standing, empty now.

'Yeah.' Ron had the feeling that the room was somehow dimmer.

Snape rolled his eyes at their moping, the bint would be gone for a month. It was not the end of the world. She would be with her family, her muggle family, what possible harm could come to her.

Hermione arrived with a short yelp. She landed on the ground on her back and lay there unwilling to move, afraid that she may have just broken her arse. She groaned and rolled over onto her front. She quickly took the box from her pocket and placed the golden locket into it. It was locked and she was instantly relieved; there was something not quite right about the thing.

The distinct sound of a shotgun being pumped made her freeze. She slowly turned her head to behind her, right into the barrel of a sawn off double barrel shotgun. She swallowed thickly and looked into the harsh eyes of Bobby singer, older but relatively unchanged from the last time she had seen the man.

'You want to be staying very still little lady.' Bobby's voice was deep and calm. It was disconcerting that this man had a gun pointed at her, ready to blow a hole through her head and was calm and steady. His hands did not waver.

Hermione slowly raised her hands above her head still clutching the jewelry box in her hand, her duffle bag at her side. She knelt on the ground and couldn't stop the shaking, willed Bobby to recognize her, willed him not to shoot her down.

'Hi Bobby.' She congratulated herself on keeping her voice steady. His stance didn't change, he didn't lower the gun and he didn't recognize her.

'Who are you, and how did you get in here?' Arriving early had definitely been a mistake.

'It's Hermione, Bobby. Sam and Dean were meant to be here to warn you that I was coming. ' Her words did not seem to be reassuring him, she had forgotten slightly just how suspicious hunters were.

'Given the trouble those boys have been getting themselves into you'll forgive me if I don't take your word on it.'

'As long as you don't shoot me, you can do whatever you want. Call them, ask them where they are, when they'll be here, why they didn't so much as call.' Because the boys had phones and a phone call would not have been remiss. She was getting angry, she had asked for a safe place, and they would be having a talk on the terms that defined a safe place. Bobby didn't answer her but he did start to move along the wall of the room, gun remaining trained on her but definitely moving towards the phone hanging on the wall.

Hermione didn't take her eyes off of the man, until he picked up the phone and started to dial. She looked around the room quickly, looking for anywhere she could hide, if that phone call wouldn't do it then she would have to move, she was not going to get shot, would not go out that way. In her perusal she looked up and almost groaned. She was under a devil's trap. Should've known, Bobby had always loved his symbols and Hermione had found the Devil's trap in a book at Hogwarts, she had remembered thinking how Bobby would have loved it. She hadn't given it much thought beyond memorizing it.

'Bobby.' She called his name and all his attention was intimidatingly on her. She slowly raised her empty hand and presented it to him, showing just how very empty it was. She moved slowly and placed it outside of the circle, it wasn't much of a stretch as she was on the edge, and the tension that it released from the man was a huge relief.

'I'm not a demon Bobby, it's me, Hermione, John's daughter. It's been a couple of years but I didn't think your memory would be that bad.'

' Hold still until I talk to your brothers and it'll all be a misunderstanding. I remember you but times are tough and I can't afford to be careless. You sure did grow up.' Bobby smiled at her in apology but kept the gun on her and she relaxed back to sit on her heels. She didn't like it but she could understand it; Constant Vigilance and all. They sat and waited for Dean to pick up his bloody phone, Bobby finally got his voice message and he left a sharp message. Bobby tried Sam's phone but it went straight to the messages.

Hermione's phone rang and she jumped, Bobby was startled but she was pleased to see his hand didn't waver, would have been slightly panicked if he had let the phone endanger her.

'May I?' Bobby nodded and she reached for the phone in the pocket of her jacket. She felt around and her hand bumped her wand, she felt herself calm and palmed it along with her phone, she didn't want to use it but she would not be shot. She dropped the wand next to her lap and placed the box on the ground next to it, she let her hand fall next to the wand, fingers just touching it. Bobby looked at the wand and she could see him dismiss it as just a stick, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She answered the phone eyes still trained on Bobby, judging how fast she would have to be with her wand if she had to disarm Bobby.

'Hello.'

'Hermione, its Sam, you might want to hold off on travelling for just a little bit, we haven't managed to make it there yet, should get there in a couple of minutes but it might take us a bit of time to tell Bobby. Wouldn't want you getting shot.' He laughed and she gritted her teeth.

'Hi Sam, you might want to tell Dean to put his foot down, I really don't want to get shot either.'

'Hermione?' Sam's voice was wary and worried and she wanted to snap at him for being an idiot, wanted to do it over the phone so he wouldn't be able to get her with the puppy dog look.

'Sam I'm going to hand you over to Bobby alright.' She made sure Bobby understood and she held the phone out to him, he walked closer and she regretted it because this close there was no way he would be able to miss.

'Sam it's Bobby, what the hell have you two idjits gotten yourselves into this time.' Bobby backed up and she let out the breath she had been holding, was very tempted to make a move while he was slightly distracted, didn't because she couldn't afford to ruin any form of trust before it had a chance to form.

'I ain't gonna shoot her… No I won't take your word for it, not over the phone… don't put Dean on, just tell him to drive the goddamn car… well if you had of phoned ahead I wouldn't have to have a shot gun pointed at your little sisters head… look boy don't go threatening me, get your asses here, and everything'll be cleared up… no she passed that test, but I still haven't given her any holy water… Just get here as fast as you can.' He hung up the phone and placed it in his pocket.

'Well I am kind of thirsty.' He looked at her completely straight face incredulously before giving her a lopsided grin.

'goddamn smartarse Winchesters.' He lowered the shotgun and turned his back on her as he walked into the kitchen. She watched him go and just sat there. He stuck his head back out the door and looked at her impatiently.

'You coming or what.' Hermione scrambled to her feet, she put her wand back in her pocket but kept her hand on it, the box went into the opposite one.

She sat herself in the chair opposite Bobby and he put a glass of water in front of her, she didn't hesitate but gulped it down, the portkey ride had made her queasy and the tension of having a gun pointed at her hadn't helped any. She put the glass down empty and gave a little burp. She covered her mouth in embarrassment and Bobby looked at her with affection.

'It is good to see you Hermione, I was sad to hear you had gone back to live with your mum, an expensive boarding school and you couldn't come and visit your uncle Bobby?' She stilled at the lie, didn't want Bobby to think that of her but didn't want to let the man think badly of her father either. Not now that he wasn't able to defend himself.

'I would have visited Bobby.' She left it at that but couldn't keep the sadness out of her voice. Bobby recognized it because he stopped all together, anger clouding in behind his eyes.

'What did that man do?'

'Nothing that matters now Bobby, it's over, he's dead and there is nothing that can be done to change the past.' Her words choked in the middle and she looked down at the table, tracing a finger over one of the many nicks in the polished wood; a true sign that Bobby used the table to clean his weapons.

'Yeah and if the man were here I'd shoot him in the ass. The man was an idiot.' Hermione shrugged because she couldn't say anything to that.

They sat at the table and tried to make small talk. It didn't really work and the silence became oppressive, uncomfortable until they were both shifting in their seats, straining to hear the impala. Hermione heard it first and she gasped because it was so distinctive even after all this time. It was the family car and it held her brothers and she hadn't seen them in years and what if they didn't like her. Bobby stood and Hermione contemplated running out the back door. She followed behind Bobby and made herself wait on the porch as Bobby went to greet the big black '67 chevy impala. Hermione felt liquid start too pool in her eyes at the beautiful sight. She quickly sniffled and blinked them away, wouldn't have to scare them away from her terrifying tears.

The car stopped in the front of the house and her brothers stepped out, they were all grown up and the sight shocked her, Sam was gigantic.

They greeted Bobby and hesitantly made their way to where she stood. They stood on the front porch and just looked each other up and down. Taking in the differences of all grown up.

Bobby huffed in annoyance. He cuffed Dean on the back of the head and pushed his way into the house.

'Come in when you idjits are done.'

Sam smiled at her and she smiled shyly back.

'Hello.' Dean was freaking out, this practically grown woman could not be his baby sister. Her voice was shy and small and so incredibly English, and she was so grown up that it couldn't be the same person as the little eleven year old he had last seen when his father had kicked her out of the family. He hated his father in that moment, something that was getting easier to do now that he was dead and he had left everything so messed up. Hated him because he had made them miss so much, this person was a stranger, a stranger with his blood and that was just wrong.

'Hey.' Sam didn't know what to say, she was so short, and petite and here, finally. It had been years and he had missed her terribly had been thinking on her more and more lately ever since he had been kicked out and brought back into the fold, since he and his father had made amends, especially after she had called and made them all feel incredibly guilty for not calling her, incredibly worried that the yellow eyed demon could touch her when she was so far away.

'So, awkward.' Dean tried to break the tension when all he wanted to do was take her in his arms, hold her and never ever let her go.

'Yeah.' Hermione couldn't get passed answering one word at a time but her mind kept drawing blanks.

Sam moved forward and crushed her in his arms, holding her to him in one of the biggest hugs she had ever had. She moved her face to the side so she didn't smother in his chest and hesitantly put her arms around him and hugged him back. He tightened his grip and she followed until they were hugging the life out of each other and laughing about their impeding death.

Sam released her and she turned to Dean who was standing awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. She grabbed him and squeezed as hard as she could. She had always hugged them like this, as if it were a competition on who could hold who the hardest. If it wasn't too emotional and girly then Dean could stand it, barely.

She finally released him, a little bit after Dean had let his arms fall from around her. She smiled at them, a little tearfully, but full of joy.

'I am so glad to see you both. Let's go get something to eat, I'm starved.' She turned and led them back into the kitchen, Bobby already making sandwiches.

Sam and Dean shared a look; that was definitely there sister, hugged like their sister, bossed like their sisters. Sam smiled a happy boyish grin, something that had been missing from his face for months and Dean grinned back, it was better than words could describe to have her back. They didn't need words though, they both felt it. They followed her into the kitchen, food did sound good.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Harry Potter; some of the conversation here was taken from the children shouldn't play with dead things' transcript. **

**A/N: This is the episode 'children shouldn't play with dead things.' Go watch that and read this and match where I fit Hermione in.**

**Chapter 6:**

Bobby sat and stared at the three of them, each wolfing down as much food as they could. They barely stopped to breathe, all in the vain attempt to not have to talk. To not have to explain what the hell had just happened, how the hell the littlest Winchester had appeared out of thin air into his living room.

The sandwiches were nearly finished but he made no attempt to make more, despite the begging eyes from all three corners. The time for stalling was over, he wanted explanations and he wanted them now. There was a fight for the last sandwich won by Dean, him having had the most experience at snagging food whenever he could.

The girl leaned back in her chair and held a hand over her stomach, a look of pain on her face; serve her right trying to out eat those boys, little thing like her it was foolishness. He winced to think of her drinking in a couple of years, if she was this stubborn about food, he did not want to be the one to care for her with her first hangover.

'I feel sick.' He snorted, it was not going to be that easy.

'Tell me what the hell is going on.' He gave them a no nonsense look, was pleased that apart from Dean's customary look of rebellion at anybody but his daddy giving him orders, they both looked sheepish. The girl looked wary, met his eyes and knew he wouldn't be getting anything out of her, nothing that she wouldn't choose to share. If what he thought had happened , he didn't blame her being cautious.

She looked at both boys and they wouldn't meet her gaze, suddenly very interested in his table. She rolled her eyes, it seemed to be a practiced look.

'I'm a witch.' Well nobody ever accused the Winchesters of easing folk into it. He stared at her and had no idea what to say, didn't want to alienate her, no more than pointing a gun at her head had already done. He winced because he still remembered the little girl, uneven pigtails pulled into messy plates obviously done by the clumsy hands of boys, he had never asked but had always guessed on Dean, couldn't ever picture John making that kind of effort. Last he had seen her she had had her two front teeth missing, it had made her latin the funniest thing any of them had heard in a long time. A witch; sweat Jesus, no wonder John had flipped his lid, he hated to think on what the man had had to have done.

He looked back at her closed face, blank and uncaring as she looked at him. He smiled gently at her even if the thought of it all chilled his bones. He had killed enough witches in his time to know that they were bad news, didn't want to believe it of the little girl he had known but knew everything they hunted had to start somewhere.

'A witch?' He cursed himself for sounding stupid but what the hell else was he going to say.

'Yeah, it's not like what you hunt, its not for power or revenge, it wasn't a choice. This is who I am, it's a part of me. I'd be a witch no matter what, always have been, always will be.' The get used to it was left unsaid but was heard by all. The boys looked at her with sad looks, and he watched her pointedly not acknowledge them. She wasn't going to apologize for what she was and he gave her extra points for that.

'And appearing here, what was that.' At that she did look at the boys, giving them quite a dirty look. They both fidgeted in their seats and he grinned.

'I was meant to be arriving to a safe place, they were supposed to warn you. I'm sorry for startling you.' He had put a gun to her head and she was apologizing to him, obviously growing up separate had instilled manners into the little lady.

'Sorry for pointing the gun at your head. So what is it that you can do?' She pulled out the stick she had been carrying earlier and his eyebrows rose in surprise.

'This is my wand, I can't do anything right now because I'm under age and I don't want to get arrested, but I know quite a bit, I'm top of all my classes.' He internally berated himself because he had let her pull a weapon when he had thought her an enemy. He started to have doubts on who would have come out the better of the two of them if it had come down to a fight, started to think that maybe it wouldn't have been him.

'What do you mean underage?' Dean and Sam were riveted to her, he guessed that they wouldn't know anymore about this then he would. He felt just that little bit of shame at the boys that he had only ever felt when Sam had left, because they had let their father break up their family, again.

'It's illegal to do magic when your underage unless at school or for emergencies. You get expelled and they snap your wand.' She said it like it was such a great horror, like she could think of nothing worse.

'You have laws?' Sam looked amazed, Bobby sometimes forgot that the boy had wanted to be a lawyer. Strange kid that one.

'Yeah Sam we have laws, and police and governments and everything. It's a whole hidden world, it's incredible.' She laughed as she said it and her face lit up and he was amazed; that kind of love was hard to find.

Sam looked enchanted, Dean looked like someone had just pissed in his cornflakes. Bobby sighed because he could see how this was going to end, the girl wasn't here for long she had said a month. Then she'd leave and Dean wouldn't be graceful about it. She'd leave and he'd get angry to stop the pain and then she wouldn't come back. He vowed that he wouldn't let that happen, even if he had to cut the boys tongue out to prevent it.

'What's your school like?' Sam ignored everything as he honed in on the quest for information. Hermione smiled because she just knew that she had worn that same expression a million times before.

'Amazing, scary, wonderful. I never even imagined that it could be so good, not with what we'd seen, I thought it would be dark and horrible and full of monsters but it isn't. Dean unicorns are real.' They had had that argument when she had been seven; she had brought one of her unicorn toys with her and Dean had tormented her about it, because unicorns weren't real and she was just a stupid girl, and even if they were they wouldn't want to hang around her. They had screamed so loud that the motel manager had knocked on the door. Given the noises that had been coming from the room next to them the night before that was truly saying something; Hermione remembered asking the man why the people next door could fight as loud as they wanted and she and Dean couldn't. The man had given a wheezy laugh and Dean had ushered him out of the door way while Sammy stuttered apologies.

She laughed at his expression, it had gone from pissed and she could guess at what had caused that, to amazed.

Hermione sat in the back of the impala and just breathed in the smell of the leather. It was home and childhood and she felt herself calm. Bobby's had been nice, they had talked and it hadn't been too awkward. She had felt something relax inside, they had managed to laugh and it hadn't been completely angst filled as she had feared. She found that she wasn't angry at them, not now that she was here with them. Couldn't hold onto it, not when they were there to remind her of how and why she loved them.

Then they had moved to leave Bobby's and she had had panicked, she had flung her arms around his waist and held on tight, he was her buffer and they were leaving him to his cars. It wasn't fair and in that moment she felt comfortable with dragging him along with them. He had patted her awkwardly on the shoulder and she had released him, blushing in embarrassment, she'd kissed him on the cheek, said good bye and made a hasty retreat to the back seat of the car. She had stroked the side of the Impala when she had reached it, stroked it and said hello. Dean had coughed and she had met his understanding eyes and smiled because this they both understood, she didn't tell him about the old blue ford that was supposedly still driving free through the forbidden forest but Dean got it. She was as much a part of the family as they all were, alive enough for a few words.

Dean had told her with pain in his voice of her injuries, of how he had patched her up so she was as good as new. Hermione could hear behind the words though; everything left a scar, even on cars.

They had been silent for a while; AC/DC in the air; she had missed their music. Her mother and other father were into classical and jazz. She had never understood it but had left them to it. The wizarding world had their own bands, didn't understand the importance of classic rock, she had wanted to teach them for years, needed to initiate Ron and Harry when she got home because she hadn't known what her ears had been missing until this moment.

Dean turned the music down and she sighed a bit in disappointment. He smiled at her in the mirror, it was a smile filled with pride and shyness and she loved it instantly.

'Why are we going here again?' That got her attention. She wanted to know what adventure they were going on.

'Because I want to, after Dad it just seems appropriate.'

'Where are we going?'

'Mum's grave.' Oh, she felt awkward and uncomfortable because it wasn't her mother her mother was still alive and safe and she felt like saying sorry because theirs wasn't. They continued bickering; Dean making it obvious that he did not want to go, she didn't either but if Sam wanted to she wasn't going to stop him. He made the suggestion that Dean and her go to the roadhouse, that he'd get a lift, she didn't know this roadhouse but wasn't going to leave him to go alone.

Dean turned the music back on and she relaxed into the seat thinking on death and funerals and rotting bodies deep in the ground.

Sam knelt on the grass in front of a slab of stone on top of an empty grave, but she knew he felt close to his parents there. It made her wonder if Harry had ever been to visit his parent's grave. She didn't think he had, wanted to take him because she thought he would want to.

She looked at Dean standing awkwardly as far away from the grave as he could get and still see Sam, she walked over to him slowly because she didn't want him to be alone, didn't want to think on dead mothers any longer, didn't want to think on dead fathers.

Dean crouched as she approached him and she tilted her head. He stood up with some dead grass and she arrived and got a good look at the perfect circle of dead ground that he was standing in the middle of. Well that wasn't normal.

She stood silently beside Dean as he worked his magic on the groundskeeper, he found out about the girl who had died, how there had been no strange pesticide accidents, and he didn't know why the grass had died. They shared a look and joined Sam as he made his way back to the impala.

She couldn't believe Sam, the dead circle had been obvious and so supernatural that it had made her teeth hurt, although that may have been the pressure from the way she was gritting them at his obstinacy. It reminded her too much of the adults back home not believing her and her boys that it had made it hard for her to say anything nice to him. Dean had gone for a drink and she had followed him, knowing she would probably be sent back but having to try anyway. He hadn't sent her back, had just opened the impala's door for her and they had driven off without speaking.

They hadn't made it to some seedy bar, a fact that she was secretly slightly disappointed in. They had gone to the girl; Angela's house, broken in and had to calm a hysterical young lady. Hermione didn't want to think what would have happened if she hadn't been there.

Hermione sat beside the girl on the couch, patting her consolingly on the knee as she cried and wailed. Dean tried to get information out of her but it was hard, what with the snot. Hermione shared a look with Dean and knew they had to give up, this wasn't going to help anything. They had already gotten the girl's diary from her room, this comforting was just to consolidate the act. Not that she didn't feel sorry for the girl having lost her friend, but there really wasn't any way she could make it better, knew that if it had been Harry or Ron dead and buried that she would have been inconsolable; wouldn't have wanted anybody, let alone a stranger to even try.

'But it's not just her, its Matt.' Hermione stilled because that was what they wanted. Dean gave her a look and she continued her patting. Her hand was getting tired.

'Who?' Dean tried to cut back on his enthusiasm but he hated talking to the grieving, they always hid things so he and Sam couldn't do their job properly. Not that Sam was helping much at the moment. As if he would let anything get in the way of the hunt. He rubbed at his chest and wished that he could forget just the sight of that single slab of stone announcing to the world the horror that was his life. He hadn't wanted to see her grave, didn't want to think of her as dead and burnt up; could still her screams when he thought on it long enough, was tired enough. He didn't need any reminders because it was always there.

'Angela's boyfriend.' He brought himself back to the task at hand, urging her on as fast as he could because he wanted to be out of that grief filled house.

'No he said he saw her. As in, like an acid trip or something.' That did not bode well, Hermione shivered because they were going to have to dig the body up. She had always hated that part, had had nightmares of zombies jumping from the grave and grabbing her and pulling her down with them, to be buried alive.

Hermione looked at Sam's embarrassed face and laughed, he just looked so shifty. Dean explained what they had found and they bickered some more. She was beginning to fear that there was something more going on than just their father's death. Something was off between them and neither one was talking about it, it was making her itch.

She stayed in the car while they talked to the girl's best friend, they had said the ruse wouldn't really work if she went with them. She sighed because she was bored and any moment that she wasn't moving and doing something, she found her thoughts returning to her boys. She missed them already, didn't want to think how bad it was going to be a week from now, a month not when it was this bad after only two days.

'Stop pouting, princess.' Sam and Dean entered the car and relaxed their stance, coming out of their acts.

'I wasn't pouting.' Hermione quickly wiped the pout from her face. She smiled at the princess comment though. It had been Dean's nickname for her when she had been little, it had always been her favorite because she had always wanted to be a princess. Draco Malfoy had called her that last year and she had landed him in the hospital wing for two days, the mudblood tacked on hadn't made her curses any slower.

'Are we digging up a grave tonight?' It was odd how she normal she felt saying the strange words.

'yeah.' Sam looked at Dean in horror.

'Are you high, Angela died last week?' Hermione shuddered, gross.

'So?'

'So there aren't going to be bones, there's going to be a ripe, rotting body in the coffin.'

'Since when are you afraid to get dirty, huh?'

'Eww.' Hermione and Sam shared a look of complete understanding, Dean was doing the burning.

The coffin was empty, Hermione looked around the dark night with not a little bit of fear. There was a creepy zombie girl out there. Hermione had read about inferi the year before and had learnt as many fire spells that she could find, had them memorized and was quietly going over them all under her breath as she gripped her wand tightly. It was still in her pocket because she just didn't feel comfortable waving it about in front of her brothers. They had managed to laugh about it all, but Hermione knew that the idea and the reality were two different things and she didn't want to remind them that she was different, other.

'Hermione.' Dean's voice called her and she approached the edge of the grave slowly, hesitantly.

'What?' Her brothers looked up at her, standing in the coffin, she wondered where they would have stepped if Angela had been where she was meant to be.

'Have you seen these symbols before?' The torches were giving them a sallow look and she swallowed because they looked like corpses. She ignored her fears and looked to where the torch was pointing at some chicken scratching. She lay on the wet grass to get a better look and her brain made the leap from drawings to understanding, not complete but she recognized some of the writing.

'It's Greek, something about death and forever.' She didn't recognize much but knew a few important words in most languages, It was necessary when reading certain words out loud was so dangerous. It was important to know what words not to say.

'I thought I recognized them, it was in her dad's office, on one of his books.' Sam's voice was excited. She didn't understand how he could have left, not when he got this excited over finding a clue.

Dean had freaked out, had yelled at the poor man who had only just lost his daughter, Hermione stared at the back of his head. Sam had said something about being scary on hunts and just hearing it scared her because they were breaking down. Dean wasn't handling their dad's death, and Sam was freaking out because Dean wasn't handling it. She had been fooled, had known before she had come that he wouldn't handle it well and had still been fooled. She wanted to do something but had no idea what, knew that Sam's method of forcing Dean to confront it was not working but didn't have any better ideas and could only watch as the two butted heads all in an attempt to care for each other. They really needed lessons in family 101, all of them. She watched them push it back, push it away until another time and frowned. It would require some thought.

They had figured that since Angela had gone after her boyfriend she would go after the other partner in that little tryst. They had staked out the friends place, sitting in the impala out of the cold air. Dean had demanded to know about the bruising on her face. She had lied to him, saying it had been just a bit of rough housing. He hadn't believed her, had demanded to know who had hurt her. She had insisted it was nothing and had gone silent. Let them think what they wanted. The car had been uncomfortable since then, become too enclosed, too close. She really hoped this zombie girl would show up real quick.

Hermione saw a flash of white out of the corner of her eye and she whipped her head around to see. She caught sight of who she assumed was Angela just rounding the corner of the house.

'Dean, she's here.' Dean and Sam were suddenly all business; this was a hunt and there was no place for emotions in it.

'Stay in the car.' Dean and Sam got out, holding their guns at their sides as they ran across the road to the house. She looked at their retreating backs incredulously, because she was a very powerful witch and there was no way she going to let her brothers go into a situation without her help.

She watched them round the corner and opened the door as quietly as she could, she set the car door against its frame but didn't close it, wouldn't be good if they found out she was coming, not before she got there. She followed them quickly, wand in hand and suppressed any lingering fear she had of rotting zombies.

She reached the back and quickly entered the open back door. She could hear screaming and she ran to the source of the sound. She rounded the corner and was met with a backhand so powerful it sent her careening into the wall. She hit the wall hard, her back smacking into the solid surface. Her brothers shouted and she heard a gun fire.

She groaned and rolled slightly so she was facing the room, she opened her eyes; strange, she hadn't realized she had closed them. The zombie was crouched over her and the boys were shouting but not shooting, unable to get a sure shot; afraid they would hit her.

Angela smelled of rot and dirt and that strange musky dry smell of snakes. It was cloying and it made Hermione gag. The animated corpse stood over her and breathed putrid, sweet smelling air into her face. The smell burned its way into her brain and she knew she would never forget it. The zombie seemed to sniff her, stood back up when it didn't seem to find whatever it was looking for. Shots fired and Hermione gave a short scream. Wounds opened with each bullet that hit the body and a viscous brown liquid oozed out of the new holes. The smell grew infinitely worse. The zombie turned to the rest of the room and screamed at her brothers as Dean emptied his clip into her torso. Angela turned and climbed through the open window, and sprinted off into the night.

Hermione breathed deeply and winced, her ribs were at least bruised. She put a hand to her chest; trying to feel if anything was broken. Hitting the wall had not been a pleasant experience.

'What the hell were you doing?' Hermione looked up at Dean's angry face from her prone position on the ground and tried to shrug

'I wanted to help.' Sam reached down and helped her to stand, it was a struggle but Hermione put on a blank face, because if they were ever going to let her in on the hunts then she was going to have to show she could take a little pain.

'Help? You almost let the zombie get you.'

'It wasn't the best plan, but only because you didn't involve me in yours. I'm just going to keep following you until you include me.' Her family consisted of hunters, she would be damned if they wouldn't let her to do it as well. Dean looked angry, but she retained her stubborn look and she saw the exact moment he caved.

'Fine, you get trained, and you follow orders and if either of us say no, then you follow that and do as you're told.' She wanted to salute at the orders but thought that may have been pushing her luck just a tad. She nodded solemnly.

Dean gave her a sharp nod and walked away out the back door. Sam and Hermione watched him go. A frightened sob caught their attention and they turned to the girl they had saved crouched beside the couch, as far from the window as she had been able to get. Hermione stepped towards her and she flinched violently back.

'It's alright, everything is fine now.' Hermione tried to approach again but the flinching was not going away. Sam put his hand on her arm and started to pull her away. Hermione looked to him and he gave a slow shake of his head, still pulling.

'We can't just leave her.'

'Trust me, she'll sleep and this will all have been a horrible nightmare. First lesson; people who don't want to believe won't.' Hermione gave one last look to the frightened woman and let herself be dragged out, the woman's eyes following her the entire time.

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Supernatural**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, some of them have been very helpful, I would love more of those, I'm trying to make my writing better and if there is anything that you think I should improve on please tell me. The last chapter was a bit dissatisfying for me but I think this one is better, at least I hope it is.**

**Chapter 7:**

They had just left Neil, scared and nervous in his office; Angela had been there, just behind the door. Hermione just hoped she had heard their plan, that she would meet them at the cemetery and they could finish this thing.

Dean and Sam were going over the plan; explaining it to her one more time, though she had gotten it the first time they had gone over it. Sam was going to be bait; Dean and Hermione were going to be waiting by the grave. Dean would stake her and Hermione would make sure she didn't get the better of Dean and go climbing out of the coffin, again. It was a simple plan and she felt glad that they were including her. Didn't think they would have after she had gone and stupidly followed them.

She had been berating herself for her actions for the last couple of hours. She knew better, there was no way she wouldn't have done that back home. She wouldn't have risked herself or others in that kind of situation; not even if she had wanted to be involved. The department of mysteries had been different. Hermione prided herself on her brains, running in without thinking beyond the fact that she wanted to be involved was not smart. Running straight into the zombie and getting in the way of the fight had been incredibly dangerous. She knew what that thing could have done when it had been standing over her; didn't understand why it hadn't, but Hermione was going to take that painful lesson to heart.

They were all crouching around the open grave; thankfully it hadn't been filled in yet. They each lit candles around the grave without speaking; listening for any tell tale signs that Angela had arrived. A twig snapped and Sam quickly moved off; gun pointed in front of him. Hermione moved to crouch behind some tombstones while Dean moved off to the side, out of the light.

A gun went off and Sam came running into their view; Angela sprinting after him. The zombie moved, fast, smooth; Hermione wondered if Angela had been able to move like that when she had been alive.

Angela tackled Sam and Hermione heard a faint snap; Angela grabbed Sam around the head and Dean fired into her chest. Angela stood back up and screamed, she was standing in front of her open grave and Dean continued firing into her torso. Hermione crept up beside the girl. Dean gave her a nod and stopped firing. Hermione took the shovel they had brought with them and swung it, two handed, into Angela's chest. The zombies breath left her body in a surprised huff and Angela fell back into the grave. Dean slid in after her and plunged his stake straight through Angela's heart, pinning her to the silk covered wood.

'What's dead should stay dead.' Hermione couldn't agree more, and kept a careful look on Angela, watching to see if that had done it. Dean climbed out of the grave and Sam joined them as they looked at the young woman in the white dress, finally at peace; wooden stake notwithstanding.

They took turns shoveling dirt back into the grave, it took a while but finally it was done and they could leave.

Sam's arm was broken, and they made the decision to go to the hospital; get it plastered, set it if it needed to be set. Dean had made his customary wise arse remarks but it was a necessary trip. Hermione hadn't been to a muggle hospital since she had been eleven; it was turning out to be a rather odd experience.

St. Mungos had been filled with chaos; there were always such strange things that went wrong with magic, but there was always an air of calm within the walls. Everybody entering always had faith in the knowledge that magic could fix anything.

In this hospital Hermione saw more worried looks, more fear. She looked around nervously as they waited for a doctor to heal Sam.

'What are you looking at?' Dean leaned into her and she looked up into his calm eyes, she knew hospitals weren't anything special to him, but it frightened her that they had to go through all of this without magic, without an instant fix.

'I don't like hospitals.' Magic wasn't a cure all, people died and there was nothing that brought them back. Magic gave the illusion but she could see the lie in a place like this; it made it all more real. She suddenly had a desperate need for her boys back home. They were at war and magic wasn't going to fix it and make it go away, just like it wasn't going to fix Sam's arm in the next couple of minutes.

'Yeah, hospitals pretty much suck, but what are you going to do.'

'Magic, can fix broken bones in minutes, just with a couple of words, even when an arm goes missing, it can be reattached. You don't have that, and I don't know the spell to fix Sam, I can't help him.' She recognized how careless she had been, not learning healing magic, vowed that she would learn as much as she could as soon as she could.

'Sam's had broken bones before, he's always healed just fine. You aren't a doctor, and it isn't your job.' Dean gave her an admonishing look, but he didn't understand. She could do so much with magic, and it was shameful that she couldn't do this.

Dean put his hand on the back of his sisters' neck as she looked down at her faded jeans. He turned her head to him, made her look at him. He got that she was a witch, he didn't understand what all that entailed but he got enough. Knew that she could probably do some pretty fearsome things; he wouldn't have been comfortable her trying them out on Sammy but didn't want her to feel bad because she couldn't produce a miracle out of her hat every time one of them was hurt. She looked at him with her big brown eyes and she looked so young. He felt guilty that he had brought her back into their lives, into this pain, but she was family and he was selfish enough not to regret it.

'You don't have to do anything Hermione, you could fix it but you don't know how, that's alright. You'll just learn how to do it for next time. Sam is being looked after and he's not going to complain, it's not that big a deal; although if I ever lose my arm I want you to put it back on.' Dean was rewarded with a watery smile and he frowned because he hadn't wanted her to cry. She flung her arms around him and he patted her back awkwardly before putting his arms around her and hugging her back.

His thoughts drifted to his father and the last words the man had spoken to him. Sam was different, physic and his father had told him that he might have to kill him one day, if he couldn't save him. The words had haunted him, had made him look at Sam differently. He held the sister that his father had kicked out of the family because she was different and he began to doubt his father's words. The man was good but even he wasn't right about everything. If he had been wrong about Hermione then by god he was going to be wrong about Sam too. He thought of Gordon who had killed his own sister just because she had been a vampire; thought on how the man had thought they had been so similar. Dean would rather die than to be the one to end his baby brothers' life. He looked down at the mass of brown curly hair belonging to his sister, and wanted to be a better man than his father. He would save what family he had left; there wasn't anything in the world that would stop him.

The next day, they cleared the hotel; removed all evidence that they had ever been there. They drove down the highway, trying to get at least a few towns away from Angela's. They had upset too many people, had left too many bodies behind. It was standard procedure to get as far from the town they had ended a hunt in, just to be on the safe side.

Dean had left the music off and Sam and Hermione were looking at him strangely. He looked nervous, jittery, angry. Something had to give and just as Sam opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, Dean slowed the car and pulled off to the side of the road. He parked the car and stumbled out of the car as if he couldn't get away fast enough. He paced anxiously before settling himself against the front of the Impala. He ran his hands through his hair and Sam and Hermione exchanged a worried look before following him out.

They settled themselves on either side of them, waiting. Dean had been acting strange, on edge and hopefully this would lead to explanations.

Dean breathed deeply, sucking in air, trying to force the words from his gut. He explained his fear that his father had sacrificed himself to save him. He let the tears flow from his eyes.

'So tell me, what could you say that could possibly make that alright?'

Sam gave Dean an anguished look while Dean looked solidly ahead. Hermione gave them both fierce eyes.

' He did it because you're worth it Dean. I may not know much about the man, but I have always known how much he loved you both. I have never doubted that.' Sam noticed the way she didn't mention their father loving her but let it go for the minute. Their father had loved his little girl, but he had gotten scared. A scared John Winchester was a frightening thing, the amount of anger that it induced had killed many a monster. Sam knew the man had loved all of his children even if he sucked at showing it.

'There wasn't any other choice Dean, you were dying and Dad did what had to be done. Dad did the right thing. It was not your fault that you were hurt that bad; and if you want to blame somebody, you blame that yellow eyed fucker.' Dean was looking at her with not a little bit of awe and Hermione gave him a fierce look of love, a show of force she had only ever used on her boys since she had discovered it in her arsenal.

'Hermione language.' Dean and Hermione turned slowly to Sam, they stared at him incredulously. Sam blushed and they both laughed at him, because a Winchester trying to curtail anybodies language was just laughable. The tension was broken and they moved to continue driving. Sam got in the car first and before Dean could follow Hermione caught him in a fierce hug and held on tightly.

'I'm glad you're not dead, and I've never been more proud of our father for anything he has ever done; even if he had to make a deal with that fucker to do it.' She let him go and moved to the back seat of the car, she didn't see the tears streaming down Dean's face at her heartfelt words.

Dean sat Hermione down on one of the beds and surrounded her with guns. He had handed her a cloth and a small bottle of oil and told her to get cleaning. Dean sat on his own bed with his knifes lovingly displayed before him. Sam sat at the little table with his laptop in front of him trying to find another hunt.

Dean was nattering away at Hermione; explaining all of the weapons and what they were best used for; Hermione listened to him, rapt, soaking up the information as if she were going to be tested on it. The training had started that morning when Dean had woken her up with the sun and had made her run with him and Sam, apparently something they did whenever they could. She hadn't known because it had always happened to early; she had grumbled but had gone. They had left her in the dust and she hoped that it was just her ribs and not that she was actually that unfit. She had handled herself well in the department of mysteries but knew most of that had been adrenalin.

' I can't find anything that looks like it could be something. I think we should head to the roadhouse, see if they have something.' Hermione looked up at that.

'What's the roadhouse?' She continued cleaning the gun she had been working on, carefully removing the powder from it having been fired.

'It's a bar for hunters, Dad knew 'em but we aren't sure how.' Dean watched her carefully, trying to not make it obvious but making sure she cleaned everything correctly. He was pleased with the way she handled them, glad that she hadn't forgotten everything she had been taught in her years away.

'Do you think they would have a hunt?' Hermione scratched an itch on her leg with the unloaded gun and she jumped in surprise as Dean snatched it out of her hand. She looked at him oddly as he patted the gun a bit and continued to scratch at the prevalent itch.

'I think there's a pretty good chance, they gave us one the last time we were there.' Sam gave a shifty look and she watched as Dean grinned widely at his brother.

'It was killer clowns.' Sam shifted uncomfortably and Hermione matched Dean's grin, she remembered a carnival that they had gone to when Hermione had been nine. Sam had come out of that carnival and convinced their dad that they clowns at the place were evil. Their dad had gone into the carnival after it had shut down and almost killed several of the carnies. It had been messy and they had had to leave town that night; John had yelled at Sam throughout the drive but her and Dean had taunted Sam by pretending to be clowns for ages after that. Sam had been scared of clowns for years before that event, but that carnival had brought the fear to Dean's attention. It had been hilarious.

'Did the clowns get you Sam.' They both laughed at Sam's pout.

'Shut up.'

'So Hermione any boyfriends out there that we should know about?' Sam deflected the conversation quite nicely onto Hermione and she poked her tongue out at him.

'Just Harry and Ron, we've been friends since my first year.' She spoke of them lovingly because she didn't know any other way.

'And which one are we going to have to have a word too?' Because they were her big brothers and that was one of the perks of the job. Hermione blushed.

'We'd probably just have to talk to both.' Dean laughed until Hermione's blush deepened and she looked down in embarrassment.

'Both?' Hermione shrugged uncomfortably because it was something that had crossed her mind before but she had never voiced her thoughts on the matter.

'It's not like I wanted to like them both, but that's just the way it is, it's either both of them or neither of them, and I don't want anybody else.' It all made her blush horribly but to her there really wasn't any other option, it was either both or none. She just didn't know how to get them to see it.

'Well, that's different.' Dean rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably because this was walking very quickly into the range of chick-flick moment and it didn't seem to want to stop. Hermione shrugged again.

'Well two at once is always more fun. Sam you remember that pair before you went off to school, man they were smoking.' Dean shook himself out of his dazed memories of most wonderful times and looked at his sister encouragingly. She was giving him a wide eyed look of horror.

'Please stop.' Sam nodded emphatically along with her his eyes just that little bit wide as well.

'What?'

'No Naked talk.'

'Just saying that I support you, in whoever you choose to be with.' Dean gave her an innocent look and she faltered. He grinned widely and she hit him because he had definitely done that on purpose.

'No naked talk.' Sam said it with more determination.

'No Naked talk.' Dean agreed regretfully. Naked talk was the best kind of talk.

Dean handed Hermione back the gun he had taken from her when she had treated it badly, and settled himself back down to his knives.

'What kind of classes do you take?'

'Astronomy, Ancient ruins, Arithmancy, history of magic, potions, care of magical creatures, Defense against the dark arts. It's all very interesting.' Hermione held up a clean piece of a gun, Dean motioned to the gun it was supposed to go with.

'What is your favorite class?'

'I enjoy potions but Professor Snape makes it difficult. Arithmancy and Ancient Ruins are challenging, History is interesting but the teacher is a ghost and very boring. Care is interesting, and Defense is a fantastic subject but our teacher's have always been erratic, the last year was horrible, a real toad of a woman. ' Hermione talked about it all with Passion and fire and Sam smiled to see it in her, she had shared a love of school with him when she had been younger and he was glad to see that it hadn't gone away.

'You've got a teacher who's a ghost?' Sam could see Dean's brain working, wondering how he could around flying to England to salt and burn her teacher's bones.

'Yeah he'd been a teacher for years and then one day he'd gone to sleep and died and just risen as a ghost and continued on teaching as if nothing had happened.'

'Why'd they keep him on?'

'Probably easier then looking for another teacher. Besides the school is very big on tradition. Everything is so old and it's filled with families that have gone there for generations.' There was an unspoken dissatisfaction with the system it seemed, Dean understood that, at least partially. They had all met those types of people, the ones who came from old money and thought they were so much better than anybody who looked like Dean and his family did. It had grated on him when he had been younger and it grated on him now.

'There are four houses that have been around since the founders' time, and everything is set around them. Nobody really talks outside their own house and everybody has expectations of people depending on what house you were sorted into when you were eleven. It's very outdated and prejudiced.'

'What house are you in?'

'Gryffindor. It's the house reputed for bravery. '

'Well that does describe you.' Sam smiled as he said it, she obviously loved her school despite its problems and he loved hearing about it, made him want to see it for himself.

Hermione smiled at both her brothers; they were taking everything so well, they had had years to get used to it, but they were actually asking her questions and listening to her answers. It made her wish she had brought some things from home that she could have shown them. She hadn't because she hadn't wanted to remind them of what she was, had been ashamed in some way. It made her feel silly now with the way they were handling it all, and she wished she had been able to explain it like this with her father. She sighed sadly at that missed opportunity, at the fact that he'd never know. She held up another mystery piece of gun to Dean and he motioned to where it went, giving her hints but letting her figure it out on her own. She had always thought that the best way to learn and was pleased she and Dean agreed on it.

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Supernatural**

**A/N: Hopefully the page breaks in this one work. Hope you enjoy it. thanks For the reviews.**

**Chapter 8:**

The Carriage sat silent, the thestrals; invisible to the eye unless one had seen death, were stomping their hoofs and rustling their wings as they waited for their passengers. They did not have long to wait.

There was a pop and woman with long blond hair, aristocratic features and wealthy yet tasteful robes, appeared out of thin air onto the platform before the carriage. Beside her, dragged along for the ride was a young man, blond like his mother and robes that had the same style of taste as hers. In truth they had been picked out by her, had been waiting for him when he arrived home from Hogwarts; confused and angry after hearing that his father had been arrested.

Draco Malfoy was not happy, this break from school had been the worst yet and it was getting steadily more horrible minute by minute. His father had been arrested, the dark lord had taken an interest in him as a way to punish his father and now his mother was forcing him to debase himself in front of a fool of a man. One he had been tasked in killing.

He breathed deeply and moved with his mother on his arm to the horseless carriages, he knew they were dragged by thestrals but had never been able to see the beasts. He had a feeling that would be a fleeting condition.

He helped his mother into the carriage and raised himself in after her, seating himself opposite her. The sky opened and it was suddenly raining, so hard that he had to close the little glass window to keep the inside of the carriage dry. It seemed so very appropriate.

'You don't think I can do it.' He kept his voice flat and emotionless because truly he did not want to, but to keep his mother safe he would have; would have killed anyone his lord had asked for. It would have haunted him but family was everything, he was a Malfoy and they were meant to protect their own. He sighed at the thought of his father; rotting in prison, he wondered if he when he got out he would still be sane.

'Don't be so naïve Draco, the dark lord himself has not been able to kill the man, after many, many years of effort. What makes you think you will be able to succeed when so many have failed before you, are you really that arrogant?' His mother's voice was high and strained and he winced at the stress that the whole situation was causing her. He wasn't arrogant, he knew what his chances were but knew he would have done everything to show he was making his best effort, would have tried as many ways as he could until one got lucky. He only had to kill the man once, something would have had to give.

'And do you really think that the very man I have been tasked to murder will see fit to help us. We will be dining with father tonight, I can see it now. Us and the dementors; what a feast it will be.' His mother flinched and he felt remorse because she did not need to be pained, not anymore than she already was. But he hated this, hated having to go begging to Albus bloody Dumbledore to help them, to save them from the big bad dark lord. It wasn't dignified and he just knew Potter would be at the end of this dark tunnel, waiting to laugh his arse off at the great Draco Malfoy dragged down to roll among the swine.

'You are not marked Draco, he has no evidence. If he will not help us than we will go to my cousin.'

'Which cousin.'

'Andromeda or Sirius; whoever will take us.' He hated how she talked of them as if they were a charity case, hated it more when he saw the truth in her words; the truth how she saw it.

'We don't need to do this, he will kill us when he finds out. We can go back, he has to break father out of prison eventually and when he is free he will be able to fix it.'

'Your father loves us Draco, but I cannot be sure who he would choose, not when it came down to it. The point is moot regardless, the man is in prison and we are meeting with the Headmaster whether you wish to or not.'

Deep down Draco knew that Lucius Malfoy would not be able to get them out of this one, not with all of them still intact at any rate, but this, this plan was far too final. He did not particularly wish to be a death eater; would have rather ruled than followed a mad man; but this was suicide. This was openly standing against the Dark lord, a man who killed and tortured and was very free with the cruciatas even among his own followers. They would be traitors, and they were going to place themselves in with the likes of Albus Dumbledore, a doddering old man well past his pride who had a handful of followers that fought against the rising tide of darkness.

Draco groaned because the rain was combining with the situation to make him maudlin and poetical and if he could be any girlier he would have to AK himself; save everybody else the trouble.

'I will not beg for charity.'

'Which is the very reason we are going to Dumbledore, he is fool enough to not make us. We will owe him but that is as it should be. I did try and go to Severus first, he would have helped us one way or another, but I was unable to find him.'

'He's probably still at the school. He probably never even leaves.' Draco like Severus, he really did, but everything was set to put Draco in a bad mood. If he could not take it out on his mother, then somebody was going to feel his wrath.

They were met at the door by Dumbledore himself. He was alone and he greeted Narcissa Malfoy with a charmed grin and a kiss to the hand. Draco tried to mute his glare but was not wholly successful, it did not seem to matter as apart from a jovial greeting he was ignored as the old man made grating small talk with his mother. He followed behind them like a flunky and tried to stop himself from saying anything biting.

They made their way to the headmasters' office and were let in, past the gargoyle, with a softly uttered fizzing wizzbees. They settled themselves before the headmaster, in comfy chairs that let you sink into them, and Draco had never felt like running away more than at that very moment. His pet phoenix trilled a short relaxing couple of notes and he felt his muscles start to untense. He breathed deeply through his nose and looked at the bookcase behind the old man's head.

'We are here to ask for your assistance, Headmaster.' His mother's voice had turned meek and begging and he almost couldn't bare it. He gritted his teeth and swallowed any protests, because as hard as this was for him. As hard as it was to hear her lower herself before this man, it had to be a hundred times harder for his mother; proud woman that she was. He raised his chin and took her hand, his father was in prison and he could be a man about anything she needed, because she needed it.

'What is it that you need my dear?' The old man's voice was calm and coaxing and Draco swallowed the desire to snap at him.

'Lucius has been arrested.'

'I was aware.' Yes because he had been there when it had happened.

'Then you know of Lucius's affiliations.'

'Narcissa, I have always known.' Bloody omniscient bastard, though considering his father hadn't done much to hide it, apart from throw money at those that would put him away, it wasn't surprising.

'And now the Dark Lord wishes for Draco to take his father's place. He has tasked Draco with killing you. We do not wish for him to go down that path. I have come to seek asylum.' He looked at his mother in faint surprise because he had not known she would be that obvious, would lay all of their cards out on the table.

Dumbledore gave them a smile. This was truly better than he could have imagined. Things had not been going well for Albus Dumbledore, he had lost the faith of Harry Potter and his friends, the younger members of grimmuald place had seen the tension between the golden trio and himself and had put their hats in with Harry. If he had to continue screening his own food for fear of what the Weasley twins had slipped into it for much longer then it was going to get very tedious very quickly. Then losing Hermione to places unknown had been a surprising blow. The young woman had always struck him as a rule following young lady, he had known she had done some slightly illegal things in order to help Harry over the years but he hadn't thought that she would really stand against him, run away from the safety of Grimmuald place. He worried for her safety but nobody knew where she had gone too and neither Harry nor Ron were talking.

Deaths and disappearances had started to pick up pace since Voldemort had been thrust into public view. The world was now aware that they were all at war but it had allowed him to start to fight in the open. It was very aggravating. But if his own people were deserting him, especially one as powerful as Narcissa Malfoy; than that might just open up the floodgates for others to leave. It gave him hope.

'You both wish to leave the service of Tom Riddle?'

'Yes.' Narcissa answered immediately and they both looked to Draco for his answer. Panic welled in Draco's gut but he swallowed it down. He nodded sharply.

'Yes we both wish to leave the service of Tom Riddle.' The words were spoken by his mother as if they were ritualistic, and he felt a soft wind of power raise the hairs on his arms. He looked between them both because that should not have been anything of power, and yet he had felt it like a hand clasping around his middle. That was it, they had just turned traitor against the most feared dark lord and generations. He gave a hoarse laugh, and he startled at the harsh sound coming out of his own mouth.

His mother patted him on the hand as if that would make any of it any better.

'Do you know what we have just done.'

'Draco it will be alright.'

'He will kill us.'

'No Mr. Malfoy, he will not. You will not be safe to return to your own home, I trust you brought some things?' His mother nodded 'Then you shall come with me to the headquarters of the order of the phoenix. I trust you have heard of us. You shall stay in headquarters and you will be safe from Tom's clutches.' And there, right there he could see Potter and Weasley and Granger in his future, it made him sigh.

***hpsup***

Harry and Ron were lying together on the carpet of the room they had taken over with Hermione when she had been there. They had their heads bent over the same book and were reading it quietly, discussing it in hushed tones as they made their way through the information. It was a book on Occumenlcy and they had been studying any books they had been able to find on the subject since Hermione had left and Snape had said he would teach them.

Their conversation was mixed, interesting information combined with a long standing conversation about what their other third was up to. The ideas and situations had become more outlandish since that morning when they had started it, lying in bed, trying to get up the energy to go to breakfast.

They were currently up to naughty times with a Succubus, Hermione and chocolate sauce. It was beginning to distract them both from their studies.

The fireplace flared to life and Ron and Harry held both wands steadily pointed at the hearth. They didn't move from their position because chances were that it was an order member, the fireplace was only open to several houses, it was safe. They kept their wands trained because one just never knew.

Dumbledore stepped out of the flames and they relaxed their hands back to the ground and turned their attention back to the book. The flames flared again and they only just had time to raise their wands again as a tall blonde woman stepped out behind the headmaster.

Harry vaguely recognized her, he just couldn't think of where. Ron gasped and Harry turned his head to see the look of shocked distrust on his face. It made him raise his wand threateningly. The fire flared again and they both gasped as Draco Malfoy stepped out of the green flames.

The first curse was on the tip of his tongue when Dumbledore stepped into his shot. Harry didn't lower his wand but he didn't curse the headmaster either, just waited silently for an explanation.

'Harry, Ron put your wands away.' The headmaster spread his hands complacently but neither boy dropped their hands even a fraction.

'What the hell are they doing here?' Harry stood and guarded them all as Ron raised himself from the floor.

'Harry, language. They are here under my protection. They have forsaken Voldemort and have decided to join the light side.'

'You'll have to excuse us if we don't completely believe that.' Harry's voice was cold because seriously; they say their good and the old man lets them into their secret hideout.

'We have turned away from the Dark lord and need protection or he shall kill us.' Narcissa Malfoy stepped out from behind Dumbledore and Harry drew his wand on her, Ron's stayed on Dumbledore.

'And why should we believe you, why should we trust you?' Draco stepped out in front of his mother and both wands were on him. He knew that he had to fix this, it pained him but there would be no peace for his mother if these two had anything to say about it.

'My father is in Azkaban, and the dark lord ordered me to kill Dumblebore, I have refused. I am not marked and neither is my mother, we shall not be leaving this house because if we do then we would be killed.' He kept his words honest and tried not to sneer at the duo. He wondered briefly where Granger was.

'Draco If you have changed sides than good for you, but we cannot just trust, blindly, that you do not have an ulterior motive. He asked you to kill, how do we know this isn't a part of your plan.'

'Tell the man I'm supposed to kill that I am going to kill him?' Draco managed to get the perfect amount of sarcasm into that one sentence that it easily made up for telling them the truth.

'Make him trust that you have seen the error of your ways and then stab him in the back. It doesn't sound like such a bad plan to me.'

'Gentleman, Draco and his mother have asked for my assistance and I have given it to them, put your wands down or I shall take them from you.' Dumbledore, it seemed, had finally had enough. His voice carried power and threat and neither Harry nor Ron lowered their wands.

'Then you should have helped them, but you should not have endangered the order. ' Harry turned his back on them all just as the door opened. Ron kept his wand on the three at the fire place while Harry faced the new threat.

Severus strode into the room and stopped dead, Potter held a wand to his chest but his eyes had focused on Narcissa and her son. He drew his own wand and pointed it at both blondes. Harry turned his back on the man and faced Draco again.

'Sir what is going on?' This was not what he had come into the room for. He had wanted to get the two brats started on their lessons, had not expected to be outed as a spy in the process.

'So this is where you have been hiding out?'

'What are you doing here?'

'We have turned our backs on the dark lord, he wanted my son and he cannot have him.' Narcissa lifted her chin in challenge, because to her Severus Snape was a spy, she had never really been sure what side he had been on but she would see him in hell before she let him hurt her son.

'You've really left him?' Severus was astonished, He had known Narcissa had loved her family but had not thought she would go this far.

'Yes. You tell him what you will.'

Severus did something he did so seldom, he smiled. Smiled at the strength of a woman he had known most of his life, had considered a friend of sorts for many of those. Narcissa looked at him in shock and he laughed.

'I will not tell him anything, you will have gone to France or further afield; fled the country to save your son.'

'No, Draco shall be returning to Hogwarts to finish his education I will not let that man take anything else from us.' Severus nodded and she finally smiled a small smile at him, dignified and poised as ever even in the most trying of circumstances.

'Seriously?' Harry and Ron still held their wands out, not pointed because they had felt silly when everyone had ignored it all.

'Potter?' Snape drawled his name and Harry clenched his teeth.

'That's it, she smiles and you welcome her with open arms. I understand trust and the need to gather allies but do none of you understand betrayal? Do none of you remember Peter Pettigrew? How can you people be so blind? If you betray us we shall kill you.' The last was said to the blonde pair before Harry pushed his way out of the room, Ron quick on his heels.

*** hpsup***

'What the hell was he thinking?' Harry and Ron had retreated to their shared room. Harry was currently pacing as Ron sat on the bed and watched him. Ron had been pissed, shocked that Draco had been let into their safe house but he was willing to be calm about it, he didn't like it but he wouldn't do anything until they could talk to Hermione about it.

'I don't know mate, but we need to talk to Hermione, see how we are going to play this. Draco may really have gone against Voldemort; I'm not saying he did it willingly or likes it, but I'm pretty sure once you betray you-know-who then there really isn't any way to get back into his good graces.'

'Unless he turns spy, or goes and kills Dumbledore or any of the order. We cannot trust him and I cannot believe Dumbledore would be so careless.'

'Come on mat, yes you can. Look we have to figure out a way to find a phone. We can't go to the payphone and there's none around here. Nobody is going to take us to find one either.'

'The houses beside this one are muggle, right?' Harry was easily distracted by the art of planning.

'Yeah, although why the Black family house is situated in the middle of a muggle neighborhood is really stupid; you know considering their hatred of everything muggle.' Harry shrugged; never let it be said wizards ever made sense or used logic.

'You got that lock pick set from the twins for your birthday didn't you?' Harry had had his birthday a couple of days before he had been taken to Grimmuald place, when he had arrived there had been cake and presents, it had been nice but a little empty considering the three of them hadn't been together for it.

'Yeah, and I've got Sirius' knife. If we take the cloak with us we won't get caught, and it is just next door. How will we get back in though?' Harry was grinning, it was shared by an equally excited Ron.

'We'll write it down, stick the paper to one of us with somebody's wand and then let ourselves back in when we're done.'

'They've all been watching us pretty closely though, and I don't think getting the twins to blow something up again will really distract anybody this time.'

'It will if they do it enough times, with nothing happening. We'll get the twins to set off a number of explosions all at different times and make sure we're seen. Then in one of the breaks; after we've been seen, we just sneak off, and make sure we're back in time before the next one.'

'You reckon they'll help?'

'Yeah the twins are on our side.'

The two grinned at each other, plans set. Harry moved forward till they were close and grabbed Ron around the shoulder pulling him into a manly embrace. Ron sighed against his chest, thoughts still caught up in their plans. They'd have to get the twins alone, away from the adults and especially Draco and his mother. Ron relaxed his head against Harry's chest and listened to his heart beating; It took several moments before he froze; thinking on the position they were in. He pulled away slowly and looked up at Harry in confusion; he knew what this was, but it was all too strange to really comprehend.

'What's going on?' He asked the question in a breathy huff of air and almost winced at how it sounded. Harry leaned forward, bringing his face up close, his glasses slipping down his face; his eyes very green. He leaned in slowly; Ron had enough time to pull away, could see the other boys' lips moving in. He didn't move. Harry's lips brushed his for a moment and they pulled away.

'What about Hermione?' They touched lips again.

'I think she'll join us. You want her to, don't you?' Ron did, more than anything, it would be the three of them and nobody would be left out, they would be together, closer than ever. It was what he wanted. He nodded and kissed Harry back, swiping his tongue over Harry's lips until he gasped and opened up to him.

***hpsup***

The boys strode down the stairs, hands brushing. They had kissed for a while and continued planning the details out, what they would tell Hermione about everything that was happening.

They both entered the kitchen; Draco and his mother were sitting at one corner of the table next to Snape. The room was filled with most of the household. It was awkward and they had obviously been told. Sirius and Tonks kept throwing the blonde pair curious looks but nobody really spoke.

Harry caught the twins' eyes and gave a head nod to the door, they both stood up and followed Harry and Ron out of the room. All eyes followed them; narrowed in suspicion.

They quickly explained the plan and the twins were quick to agree. Fred quickly attached the note Ron had written out with the house's address onto his stomach; because who would look at his stomach.

The occupants of the kitchen disbanded, before the boys returned; Draco and his mother went with Snape for tea in his room. The explosions started not long after. The first rocked the house and woke up Sirius' mother. The noise led to confusion and the three in the room followed the running crowd to stop the portrait. Draco only caught a glimpse of a pale black haired woman before Sirius and Tonks yanked the curtains over her.

'Was that…' Narcissa had recognized her aunt's screech

'Dear old mum, hasn't shut up since she died.' Sirius gave his cousin a mischievous look, hiding a deeper darkness. He wasn't happy to have any of his family in this house, not when he couldn't trust them.

'Where are the two brats.' Snape looked around the room, ignoring Sirius' indignant hey. They weren't there and this was the kind of stupidity they had pulled last time, when they had helped Miss Granger. Snape swore, because if they had disappeared again and not told him, after he had made nice he would kill them, slowly and painfully.

Sirius and Remus rushed out of the room, going straight for the room the boys had commandeered for their stay. The burst through the door, the rest of the household behind them, and stopped dead. Harry and Ron sat across from each other; a chessboard between them. They were each concentrating on the game before them and only just glanced up as their room was invaded.

'What? That wasn't us.' Ron gave them a wide eyed innocent look and Harry snorted. They both turned back to their game and ignored those in the doorway. They all stood there watching them before slowly trickling away, remembering that there had been an explosion and wanting to find out if the pipes had been broken again.

The door shut after one last suspicious glare from Snape and the boys looked at each other and started laughing.

The next explosion brought the house running again, the boys had moved to the library and were caught reading, innocently.

The next brought less people to the innocent side of the boys, who were playing a quite game of exploding snap.

The third only brought with it Snape, Sirius and Remus. They asked what they were planning but only received blank looks.

The fourth got only a quick look in on them and when the door closed behind Snape they quickly set to work. They had made sure to move after every interruption and nobody took any notice of them as they relocated to the drawing room opposite the front door. They sequestered themselves in the room and pulled out the tools they would need for their excursion.

Harry quickly pulled his invisibility cloak over both their heads and they quietly eased their way to the front door. They made sure nobody was in the vicinity and gently eased the door open. It was suspicious but the back door had been barred and was inaccessible. They gently closed the door and made their way down the steps. They stepped out of the Fidilus charm and the house disappeared behind them. They knew it was around somewhere but for the life of them couldn't remember where; it was a strange feeling to know you had just been somewhere but having no idea where that place had been.

They made their way to the house on the right side of where they were standing and eased themselves up to the front door, making sure their feet remained invisible.

Ron quickly knelt in front of the door and Harry spread his stance to cover any sign of him. The magic lock pick set made quick work of the door and they were suddenly in. The foyer was light and painted white, filled with family photos. There was a vase of flowers below a bright painting opposite the door. The complete contrast between Grimmuald place and this muggle home was astounding.

They covered themselves up and made their way further into the house, they checked the rooms; listening for any occupants. They found no one and moved back to the second room they had visited where they had spotted a phone. They threw the cloak off and Harry quickly dialed the number he had memorized. He held the phone to the side and Ron put his ear to the phone as well. The held their breath, and only let it out when they heard her voice over the line. The tension slowly melted out of their bodies because they had needed to hear from her, and it was better than what they could have imagined.

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Supernatural.**

**A/N Thanks for the reviews guys, keep 'em coming. This one's a little emotional but there ya go.**

**Chapter 9 – **

Hermione groaned as she wriggled in her seat, trying to find a comfortable spot where her muscles didn't ache. Dean had woken her like he had for the last several days and put her through her paces, they all ran together and then Dean and Sam would teach her drills for fighting. They would go over everything until she was just about ready to either collapse or vomit from exhaustion. Then they would actually start the day.

They had stopped at a gas station a little while back and Sam had disappeared to the bathroom, he had been gone so long that Dean had gone to look for him. They had come back to the Impala and Sam had looked like Death warmed up. It had been frightening and she had asked what was wrong but had only gotten a terse don't ask in return.

She was worried and the longer the silence dragged on the worse it got. Numerous possibilities raced through her head, each worse than the next. She hated not knowing something, it wasn't fair. She didn't want to bug Sam about it as he dozed, forehead pressed against the window, but she had to know.

'What's going on, Dean please?' She put all her worry into the question and Dean looked at her in the mirror, it wasn't a happy look, but he sighed and conceded.

'Sam's alright, he just gets migraines sometimes.'

'Migraines?' She said it quieter but she didn't really believe him. Dean would not be this worked up about migraines unless they were apart of brain trauma. It was a very worrying sign that he would lie to her about it all.

'Visions.' Sam's voice was groggy and pain filled and she couldn't make sense of his statement at first. She tossed the word around in her head and a cold ball of lead settled in the pit of her stomach.

'Visions?' Dean sighed; he hated bringing this all up, hated mentioning it because it scared him. This thing hurt his brother; crippled him and it involved the yellow eyed demon. It was bad, so bad that his father had demanded that he save Sam. It was dangerous to bring it up. And now they were going to see Ash to see if he could find out where the victims were at. It brought more people into the loop and it made him incredibly uncomfortable because the more people who knew, the more danger they were in.

'Yeah I've been getting visions for the last year; they started as dreams but they've grown into waking visions that come with painful migraines.' Sam's voice was smoothing out the more he talked, pain easing.

'You see the future?'

'Yeah.' His voice was wary waiting for her verdict.

Hermione gave Sam a small smile when he turned and looked at her to let him know that she was fine with it. She fell silent and turned her head to look at the passing scenery; face carefully blank, thoughts whirring.

They continued mostly in silence, Dean complaining softly of telling anybody; especially Ash, but they had to find out where it was happening so they could stop it all.

They arrived at the small roadhouse at night; it was dingy and looked dirty from the outside; it was very much little America, usually it would have made her smile.

Dean and Sam greeted Ellen Harvelle warmly. They introduced her proudly and she smiled and provided small talk for her and her daughter, but remained in the background. She seated herself at a booth and waited for her brothers to return with this Ash person. She noticed the other occupants of the bar; mainly old grizzled men giving her looks that sized her up, looks that wondered just what was under her clothes. Ellen passed her and placed her hand softly on her shoulder and the men quickly looked away, back to their own business. Hermione smiled gently up at the woman and she gave her a nod and walked away, back to serving tables.

The boys came back with a young man, dressed in ragged clothes and smelling faintly of cheap alcohol. He gave her a lecherous look and she could only stare at him in surprise; because this was not somebody she expected could help them.

He began to speak to her but Sam jumped in with requests for knowledge and it managed to distract him. Hermione looked at him in faint distaste. Dean grinned at her and she shook her head, because they really did meet the strangest people. Sam went on about children dying in house fires and trying to find information on his visions victims.

**SNHP**

Hermione sat alone at a table; she had moved away from the stares of Ash and was watching Dean interact with Jo. It would have been amusing; the way the girl was flinging herself at Dean, but she couldn't find it in herself to see the lighter side; not when she was quietly dying inside. They got the information; Andrew Gallaghar, another child whose mother had died in a nursery fire; just like Sam. It was the demon and everything was connected.

**SNHP**

They stopped at a motel that let you pay by the hour. They only needed a couple of hours to sleep. Sam had wanted to drive on through but Dean was exhausted, and he did not trust Sam to drive; not when he could have another vision at any moment. Hermione offered herself to drive, but Dean didn't trust the few lessons she had had with her mother back in England; not with his baby.

They entered the motel room and went about protecting it with salt lines. Sam went straight to the bed and lay down; kicking his shoes off. Hermione sat on the other bed; there were only two, and she would be sharing with Dean. It was uncomfortable but they didn't want to waste time getting a cot from the manager; didn't have the money for a second room.

The room was silent and oppressive and Hermione tried to let it go, tried to just lay down and go to sleep, ignore everything and live in ignorance but she couldn't do it, had never been able to.

'Did Dad know?' Dean looked at her from where he was sitting at the table, preparing his guns, getting ready for a new hunt. Sam sat up in the bed, rubbing at his eyes.

'Yeah, it hasn't been happening for that long. When we found him again I had a vision and we told him then.'

'What did he say?'

'He was pissed that we hadn't told him before , but then he seemed okay with it.'

Hermione just kind of froze at the words, her body started trembling and she desperately wanted to just not be there. She wanted to go home, because she didn't want to know this. She had been safe in her delusions and now they seemed to be all crumbling down around her. Her breath hitched and she took a shaky breath to keep herself together, just that little bit longer.

'Let me get this straight; Sam has all these powers and Dad knew about it but was fine with it. You're telling me the man who kicked me out of our family when I was eleven for being a witch, something that was not my fault, was fine with Sam getting visions.' Her voice had risen at the end until she was almost yelling. She stopped as the reality of it all tore into her. Tears welled in her eyes because this, this was just too much.

'He really didn't love me did he?' It was said in such a small broken little girl voice that Dean felt his heart break.

'I don't understand, what's so wrong with me, I didn't choose to be a witch. I've tried hating him and it doesn't work. I tried so hard, and I could be so angry at him but I never hated him. And I thought it was just being a witch and that eventually I'd show him that I was still good, still his little girl, and then he died. But if he could accept Sam, why didn't he love me?' she was openly crying now, tears streaming, and she looked at them both with such anguish that it tore them up inside. She sniffed and wiped her eyes angrily with the back of her hands.

Dean grabbed her and pulled her to him. He sat on the bed and held her in his lap, rocking her as he murmured soothing words.

'He loved you, he did, I swear he did.'

'Then why didn't he want me.'

'He was scared, it was new and dangerous and he got scared. Then you were gone and he couldn't take it back. He convinced himself that it would be better for you, you could go to your school and you wouldn't have to worry about the monsters.'

'The monsters didn't go away just because you weren't there to protect me, they just got scarier.' Dean choked on his own tears, because dear god. They had left her, left their baby sister unprotected. Sam pulled his lanky frame onto the bed beside them and sort of folded himself into Dean and held his sisters hand.

'We're here now, we'll protect you now. We love you.' Sam's voice was earnest as if he truly believed what he said and she wanted to tell them, wanted to tell them that she was in a war against evil men who wanted her dead just because of who her parents were. She didn't because even though they were tough and strong and had fought monsters their whole lives; they wouldn't survive against somebody like Voldemort. She wouldn't get them killed, just because she wanted to be comforted.

The shrill sound of a phone invaded the silence and Hermione struggled her way out of Dean's hold. She rushed to her bag, because that was her phone and that would either be her parents or her boys and she was desperate to hear either of their loving voices.

Hermione ripped into her bag and found the phone, she pressed the accept button and brought it to her ear. She let out a little cry as she heard Harrys voice. She whispered their names and threw an apologetic look to her brothers who were looking at her in pain. She rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her, locking it. She sat down on the closed toilet and listened to her boys yell down the line in happiness at hearing her.

'How did you get to a phone?' She was very proud of herself that her voice didn't crack.

'We broke into the next door neighbor's house; we're borrowing theirs.' They said it with such pride that she didn't have the heart to scold them.

'Don't get caught, Moody would be pissed.'

'Moody's already pissed. You'll never believe who showed up to the house today.'

'Who?'

'Draco and his mum. They went to Dumbledore and asked him for sanctuary, or help or something; because they didn't want to serve the dark lord anymore. Draco was tasked with killing Dumbledore and he just let him into headquarters.' Harry was indignant, and Hermione was shocked because of all the people to happily join Voldemort; Malfoy had been top on their list.

'I know you won't, but don't trust them. Malfoy's mother may have done it to save Draco but Draco was probably only dragged along; there really is no telling if he's sincere or not. If he has changed sides then the better for us; so don't go antagonizing him, but don't trust him.' This was a worrying development, it was a good sign if Voldemort was losing his supporters but to have Dumbledore just open up their secret headquarters was a very bad move.

'I'm so glad to hear from you both.' She sighed and leant her head against the wall; exhausted as everything caught up with her.

'What's wrong, what's happened?' Ron's voice came over worried and a little too loud

'Just family stuff, it's all very emotional; draining.' She didn't want to tell them over the phone, wanted them there to hold her.

'You could come home.' She wanted to, but they all knew she wouldn't

'You know I can't.'

'Sure you could, just open up the box Sirius gave you and use the portkey, then you'd be here with us and we could spy on Malfoy together.' Hermione lifted the box from her pocket where she had placed it after retrieving it from her bag earlier that day. It was true, it would be so easy. But she couldn't, couldn't just leave her brothers like that, couldn't leave it all half finished.

'I can't, I have to finish this.'

'It doesn't have to be an end you know. Just because they are in America doesn't mean you can't visit and talk and still be a family. You're a witch, it kind of makes travelling easier.'

'Yeah and what about the danger I'm putting them in, just by being here. You think the deatheaters would go easy on them just because they were in America.'

'No I think the deatheaters never need to know. Besides what about the danger they're putting you in?'

'There was a zombie.'

'Really, what happened?'

'They staked it back into its grave, I hit it with a shovel, it was kind of fun.' Hermione smiled because talking to them made everything better. It was good to have a reminder that she was needed elsewhere; it gave her strength to continue here.

'That's the spirit. What's got you so upset?' Harry really couldn't be distracted for long.

'Sam's psychic apparently, and dad knew.' She left unsaid everything that that meant, hoping they would get it regardless.

'oh 'mione. You know they love you.'

'He didn't, he tossed me out but he was fine with Sam, what the hell else am I meant to think.' Harry almost broke the phone when hearing the grief in her voice.

'The man was a bastard, I know you loved him, but goddamn the man was a bastard. I know he did what he thought was right but Hermione he was not right, what he did was not right.'

'Why did he keep Sam?' the; and not me, was plain to both boys, it made them hate the man that would put such pain into her voice.

'You said Sam ran away to college, your Dad might have found out then and just left it, or maybe he didn't have time to get really angry. Or maybe he learnt his lesson; maybe he realized that what he did to you was wrong.' Harry didn't know if he was helping but he didn't like the man, didn't want Hermione to like him; knew that would never happen.

'It's not fair. I can't even yell at him because he's not here.' Hermione let herself be soothed by her boys, let herself accept that there might have been another explanation; feared that there wasn't, but was willing to live in a lie if it meant not feeling this heart wrenching pain.

'We love you, you know that right?' Harry didn't use the words much, had never been comfortable with it because everything he had ever loved had been taken from him. Was afraid if he said it out loud then something bad would happen. Hermione knew he hadn't even said it to Sirius or Remus, when he felt it so strongly; coming from Harry that meant more than anything.

'I love you both too.' There were promises in those words, promises that would have to wait until they were all together again because that would not be a conversation she would have over the phone.

'You going to be alright, Hermione?' Ron needed to know that she was alright, that she would be fine until they were there to make sure.

'Yeah, yeah I'll be fine; it's just been a bit of a shock. I miss you both so much.'

'We miss you too, but it's not that much longer.'

They continued for a little while, said their goodbyes, and Hermione was left with in an empty bathroom, clutching the phone to her chest. She took a shaky breath and straightened her shoulders; she couldn't stay here all night.

She exited the bathroom and Sam and Dean were still sitting together on the bed, waiting for her.

'That was my friends.' It was awkward now, something it hadn't been since they had first talked at Bobby's.

'Hermione.' Dean called to her and she moved forward to them, settling herself between them both.

'Look Hermione, dad, things were black and white for him. Hell things are only starting to change for us. If he were here now and could see how awesome you are, we know he would take back what he said. You know you're a Winchester, it's in your blood, and we wouldn't have you any other way.' Sam nodded his head in agreement, he hated seeing her this upset, knew what she was feeling, having been kicked out himself. He hadn't handled that kind of break from his family well when he had been 20. He didn't want to think about how bad it had been for Hermione at just eleven years old.

Dean looked at Sam in trepidation, didn't think Sam was in a good place at the moment, but knew his younger brother would ultimately forgive him for bringing this up now. Had to tell it because it was eating him up inside, and apparently tonight was a night for sharing.

'Dad gave me one last order before he died.' The words stopped them both and they looked at him in curiosity; Sammy with a little betrayal.

'What?'

'He told me to look out for you Sammy. He told me I have to save you, and if I couldn't then I might have to kill you.' Dean choked on the words, his eyes downcast unable to look at either of them.

'What? Dad said you might have to kill me?'

'Yes, but Dad was messed up about things. I've been thinking about it all, god it's practically all I think about; and with what he did to Hermione maybe he was just that fucked up. I know he loved us all, get it out of you head right now if you think he didn't, but this all, of this could have just been his way. He might have thought he was saving us all.' He was desperate for them to understand, to agree that his father's last order to him had to be ridiculous, had to be a delusion.

'By asking you to kill me?' Sam had stood up and was hugging himself, his voice small and cold and frightened.

'No, he told me to save you.' Dean stood himself, leaving Hermione on the bed. He faced his brother and tried to convince him without words that everything was going to be alright.

'From what?' Hermione hadn't known any of this; they hadn't really talked about the events leading up to their father's death, had been too busy trying to forget it.

'The demon said he had plans for me, he did something to me and others like me.'

'So you need to be protected from the demon?'

'No, we've met others like me, other children that the demon had gotten to. The guy killed his family. The demon did something to us, and I need to be protected from myself.'

'Dude his family was messed up, they abused him. You can't blame him for snapping.'

'And now this new vision, it has to involve one of the other kids and it turns out they're killing people too, it seems like a bit too much of a pattern to me.' Sam yelled it into Dean's face, screamed it, and fell silent.

'Sam stop it. You are not a killer.'

'Last time I checked I kill all sorts of things all the time.'

'Sam you're a hunter, it's your job, but if this demon did something to you, then we'll just live with it. You have us and if you think we are going to let you go bad then you have another thing coming mister.' Hermione was poking him sharply in the chest to emphasize her words. Sam opened his mouth, a sad pitying look on his face and she slapped her hand over his mouth.

'Don't you dare. If you so much as think of making us promise to kill you then I will hurt you so badly. That isn't fair to anybody, it would be a cruel thing to ask and I am not going to let you give up like that.'

Sam nodded slowly behind her hand, and she gently released him. They both turned to Dean who was standing with hunched shoulders.

'And you, if you so much as think of following that order, you don't want to know what kind of creature I'll turn you into.' Dean flinched and gave her a hurt look as if asking her how she could even think that of him. She smiled gently at him and hugged him round the middle, squeezing tightly before letting go.

'Good. We are a family; there will be no killing of each other, or betraying of each other, or kicking anybody out, not anymore, all that stops right now. This is it and this is us and I will see the world gone before we do. Do you both understand me?' They each gave her nods of agreement, fierce lights coming to both their eyes. Family was after all everything.

**HPSNP***

'Damn.'

'Yeah.' Both boys looked at the silent phone, she had been in pain and they hadn't been there for her.

'Alright, let's get out of here.' Harry threw the cloak over them both when they reached the front door, and they made their way out of the house. They made sure the door was locked behind them and they moved to the sidewalk in front. Harry knelt in front of Ron and lifted his t-shirt up. He rested his warm hands on his waist as he read the note stuck there. It made Ron shiver. Harry stood up and whispered the houses' destination into his ear, wary of eavesdroppers. The house grew out from between number 10 and 14, and they made their way up to the front door, careful of any stray breezes that would have liked to give away their position.

They had just closed the door behind them when an explosion rocked the house; too early. Sirius' mother screeched at them and the hall was suddenly filled with bodies; all trying to shut the woman up. Harry and Ron squeezed themselves up against the far wall; trying to get as much distance between them and Kingsley Shacklebolt's broad back as he stood just in front of them.

'We'll check on the boys.' Sirius motioned Remus to him and they opened the door to the room Harry and Ron had last been seen entering. Harry squeezed Ron's waist, holding him closer to his front as Sirius and Remus returned; concerned, worried, and frustrated.

'They weren't in there. Did anybody see them go elsewhere?' Everyone shook their heads in the negative and Snape cursed something foul. Nobody corrected his language. The adults quickly spread out to search the house. The hall cleared and Ron pulled Harry along behind him to one of the rooms that had yet to be cleaned. He pushed him into the room and they collapsed against the closed door. Ron looked around the room but there was no reason for them to be in there, it was bare but for some sheet covered furniture.

'Fuck. They catch us here and we'll never get any freedom.' Footsteps were heard approaching their hiding spot. Harry tugged the cloak clear from around them, balled it up and stashed it behind one of the pieces of furniture. The door handle turned and they had one last moment of panic.

Ron looked around desperately for a way to explain this, his eyes locked on Harry. The door opened and Ron grabbed Harry, pulled his head to him and muffled his startled yelp by shoving his tongue down his throat.

Mrs. Weasley gave a short yell of surprise and the boys broke apart, lips bruised red, hair mussed and panting. They slowly turned to look at the flustered woman with glazed eyes.

'Oh, well, there you both are, together. We were looking for you, but here you are.' She made some sounds that could have been words unformed, before beating a hasty retreat, slamming the door behind her flushing face.

Harry groaned and dropped his head to Ron's shoulder, putting his hands on his waist to steady himself.

'Did you have to?'

'I panicked.' Ron's voice was still breathless and it made Harry look up at him. The other boy leaned in and they kissed softly, slowly getting harder before Harry pulled away.

'We should wait.' Their third was missing from this thing, and it didn't feel right to start without her. It was Ron's turn to groan and he dropped his head to Harry's forehead.

'Damn.'

'Yeah.'

Ron gave a little laugh.

'Mum's going to kill me.'

'I think I'm going to die of embarrassment first.'

To be continued …


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter or Supernatural and I'm not getting any more from this. Some of the dialogue was taken the transcript of Simon Says over at Supernaturalwiki.**

**A/N: This is my take on Simon Says; go and watch that then read this, or read this and then watch that to get some of the stuff that I didn't write because it already happened in the episode, and I find it hard to change something when I like it so much. This one took a while to write, kind of hard but it's done so I should stop my bitching. Enjoy and thanks for the reviews.**

**Chapter 10**

Hermione had woken to itchy eyes and a sore throat from crying the night before. She felt better but there was still evidence of the previous nights' emotional rollercoaster. They had had only a few hours of sleep before Sam had pulled them all out of bed; Dean had gone back to driving and Sam to worrying.

They entered the town where Sam's vision took place in the very early morning with tension thick in the air; at least inside the impala. She worried for Sam; the knowledge that their father had ordered Dean to kill him if it came down to it had scared him immeasurably. They had comforted each other last night and she felt closer to them then she had ever felt before but it was tinged with fear, because something was coming and they needed to be prepared; lest it kill them all.

She had spent the drive brainstorming to herself ways in which she could help the situation, she hadn't done much research on demons at Hogwarts, it didn't seem to come up much in the magical world. She wanted to visit Bobby to get a look at his books, there had to be something they could use in there, even if they didn't really know what they should be looking for. A way to replicate the colt would be a good idea.

Her brothers had explained the events leading up to their fathers' death, it had helped somewhat to know what had happened, to know all that had been said. It shined a little bit more light on the situation.

She sat herself at a nearby table as Dean and Sam pumped the waitress and the creepy little waiter for answers; dressed smartly and pulling off their ruse seamlessly. She had wanted to help out more, but had agreed with their assessment that she didn't really look old enough to pass. She was sixteen and looked sixteen, there wasn't really any getting passed it at the moment. She thought that if she had been given the resources, makeup and such she could have probably done something but she didn't have any of that, didn't know enough spells to help her out, regardless of Lavender and Parvati's greatest attempts to educate her.

She was also loath to use her magic for something so trivial; she didn't know exactly what the threat of being caught using underage magic was, and she didn't want to find out over something that her brothers could handle.

So she sat at the table and observed the male waiter get sent off like a naughty boy, and she watched his resentment at the fact, the hatred in his eyes was evident and directed not just at the woman but at her brothers. She shivered at the heat of his gaze, the intensity of it; creepy definitely seemed to be the right word for the young man. He moved off and she brought her attention back to her brothers. They left with instructions on where to find Andy and she joined them outside after a small hesitation; wouldn't do to look like she was with them.

**edk**

Sam had gone off to follow the good doctor and Hermione had stuck with Dean as they followed Andy's van. He had slowed to a stop and gotten out. Andy had walked to the impala and told them to get out; Dean had given him the impala with a smile on his face.

When Andy had driven off they had both shaken the relaxed feeling of Andy's brand of mind control off and Dean had gone into hysterics. Hermione took the time to reflect on the differences between what Andy was doing and Imperious. She had only felt the curse the one time in fakeMoody's class but that had been enough for her to never forget the feeling.

Andy's whammy had been similar but there hadn't been that complete level of unnatural peace that came with an imperious. Andy's had just felt like a really good idea. It scared her because in a way it was more insidious, more dangerous. She shivered and shared a worried look with Dean because that had not been fun; how were they going to be able to fight someone with that kind of power.

Hermione palmed her wand, because at the very least a good silencio would stop any commands unless he could do it with thought alone; considering the spell that had felled her at the department of mysteries it wasn't such a foreign concept, but any solution at this point was better than none.

***aaaaaaaaaaaaaah***

Hermione had her arm around Sam and Dean had a hand on his shoulder as he sat in the gutter. The doctor had walked in front of a bus and Sam hadn't been able to stop him, to save him.

'You can't save everyone.'

'What's the point of the visions if I can't even do anything to help.'

'We are helping, I mean once we stop Andy then he won't be able to hurt anybody, anybody else.' Dean growled at that, his poor baby being sullied by that no good sonuvabitch

'Look dude, he's gonna hurt for what he's done, but something just doesn't feel right about all of this.' Hermione kept silent, she wasn't sure she agreed with Dean, she knew what people would do when they got a bit of power. God knows having magic screwed most of the magical community up.

They moved away from the scene of the crime as the paramedics rolled the stretcher with Dr. Jennings past them. Sam stared at it, hard, before he was pulled away by both Hermione and Dean.

It took over an hour to find the impala. By the time Dean got it in sight he had been driving them both crazy; getting more frantic by the minute. It sat, parked on a side street innocuously and they each felt a level of tension ease with its safe return.

'Well, it looks like he can't work his mojo just by twitching his nose, he's gotta use verbal commands.'

'The doctor had just gotten off his cell phone when he stepped in front of that bus. Andy must have called him or something.' Hermione tuned them out because that was an interesting thought. If he could control people of a phone then that was a very, very bad thing. If he had any smarts at all then the things he could do if he could just reach somebody by phone were astronomical. Talk about ability to rule the world. She hoped there was a limit to the number of people he could control. She worried about Sam because the way this was going there really wasn't any other end for Andy but a quick bullet to the brain. If he had turned to hurting people with power like that then he had to be stopped. She worried at what that would do to Sam in reinforcing his fears of turning into a monster himself.

****n888

They found the Van easily enough; it wasn't something that could really be hidden. Dean jimmied the lock open and Hermione watched in envy. Dean noticed and he promised to teach her the fine art of breaking and entering.

'On doors too?' she asked hopefully.

'What kind of big brother would I be if I left out doors?' They grinned at each other and Sam rolled his eyes with weary resignation. It made them grin wider.

The inside of the van made them stop, because it had to be paused over, just to take it all in.

'Oh. Oh, come on. This is … this is magnificant, that's what this is. Not exactly a serial killer's lair, though. There's no…. clown paintings on the walls, or scissors stuck in victim' photos. I like the tiger.'

'Hegel, Kant, Wittgenstein? That's some pretty heavy reading, Dean.' Hermione had no idea who he was talking about, she didn't really have much of a chance to read any muggle stuff. It hadn't really seemed relevant. She felt stupid at the fact she had let herself be lax in that area, felt ashamed of the arrogance that showed. Just because she was living in the magical world didn't mean she couldn't still be more a part of the muggle one. She felt a bit dirty at how Malfoy her thought processes had been.

'Yeah, and uh, and Moby Dick's bong.' She giggled in amusement.

***nanananananabatman***

They sat in the Impala watching the van, waiting for Andy. Dean was eating something disgusting and Hermione couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at the smell.

'ugh one of these days I just want to eat something that doesn't have to be microwaved in a minimart.'

'What I don't get is the motivation; the doctor was squeaky clean, why would Andy waste him?'

'If it was Andy.'

'Dude enough.'

'What?'

'The doctor was mind-controlled in front of a bus. Andy just happens to have the power of mind control. You do the math.' Sam was getting angrier.

'I just don't think the guy's got it in him, that's all.'

'You'd be surprised.' Hermione put in her two cents worth and Sam's mouth closed on what he was about to say.

Dean turned to Hermione with a look of speculation on his face, and she waited for the questions on how she would know anything about that.

'Can you cook?' She raised her eyebrow at him.

'Because I'm a girl?' Dean shrugged as if to say yeah and. She huffed in annoyance but he wasn't fazed, she crossed her arms and pouted. It was like trying to educate a monkey.

'No I can't cook. We don't have to at school, and I never learnt at home.'

'Good food? At you're school.'

'Brilliant food, but it's all blood food. The magic world relies on house elves and its pure slavery; it's disgusting.'

Sam and Dean shared a look.

'Crusade?' Hermione huffed again, because dammit you bring home some lost, sick, and hurt kittens a couple of times and all of sudden everything is a crusade.

'It was a few cats.'

'Hermione, two cats is a few; bringing home a different cat at every new town is not a few; it's a horde.' Hermione looked out the window away from Dean's teasing glance. Sam gave a bark of laughter.

'Remember dad's conniption when he found those two kittens stuffed in with his guns, he almost shot them.' Dean cracked up with him and she fought not to smile; she had been cleaning guns for hours after that one; who knew cat hair could infest guns like that.

There was a banging at the window and all three of them jumped in surprise. Andy stood outside Sam's open window; angrily looking in on them.

'Hey! You think I haven't seen you? Why are you following me?' Hermione felt the compulsion take her and she tried to fight it, tried to fight the feeling that she really just wanted to tell him; he was Andy why would she not tell him.

Sam started to lie and she almost applauded at his strength of will, wished she knew his trick.

'Tell the truth.' Hermione clamped down on her tongue with her teeth. She winced at the pain at the taste of blood and it helped to bring her out of it a little bit. It helped more when Dean started to answer; as if the compulsion had lessened on her now that it was being answered one way or the other. Hermione raised her wand beside Sam's ear and the side of the car; secretively.

'Silencio.' She whispered the words but they hit Andy just the same. She quickly clamped a hand over Dean's mouth, muffling his answers but not stopping them; as long as Andy didn't know anymore then they could help, it was okay.

Andy tried to speak and panicked when nothing came out, he tried screaming; a very common reaction to a silencio and then he tried talking to them; tried to order them and nothing happened. Hermione smiled in triumph because it was such a relief that that had worked; that it hadn't burned her like at the ministry.

Sam got out of the car and Andy moved away from him, around the car. Sam hounded him using his size to good advantage; he cut a very imposing figure. Dean and Hermione followed behind but stayed back, because whatever Andy was doing didn't seem to affect Sam not from the way he had been able to lie.

Sam chased him into a back alley and Hermione and Dean followed at a distance. Sam accused Andy of the murders, of being able to do things with his mind and from the looks of it Andy tried to protest; to say anything but was unable.

'Hermione.' Sam growled and she shrugged, looked at Dean who nodded. She cast the finite and Andy was suddenly able to speak, he fell back against the wall in relief.

'Why did you tell the doctor to walk in front of a bus?' the question was desperate, as if Sam had to know.

'What?' Confused and frightened.

Sam suddenly grabbed a hand to his head and Hermione and Dean rushed up to him. Hermione held her wand steadily on Andy in case this was his doing but Dean only had eyes for Sam. Sam fell to his knees and Dean held him.

'What, what do you see?'

'I'm not doing anything to him.' Andy held his arms up in surrender but Hermione didn't take her aim from him.

'A woman, a woman burning alive.'

A siren wailed past and Hermione turned to look; dread filling her. What the hell was the use of the visions if they couldn't stop them; if they couldn't save people?

Dean ran off and Hermione stayed with Sam; didn't want to leave him injured and at the mercy of Andy even if it was starting to look more and more like it wasn't him who was behind the deaths. She rubbed circles on Sam's back, comforting as he continued to hold his head in pain.

Dean called back with the expected news that the woman was dead, and Andy had been with them so it couldn't have been him, and that Sam's visions were less helpful then had been hoped. It was to be expected if it had something to do with the demon but seeing Sam's worried look Hermione knew that he had been hoping; hoping that something good could have come out of it all. Hermione was more worried about the fact that if Sam was just seeing something that they had no hope of changing; what the hell kind of chance did Harry have with a full blown prophecy? If they couldn't even change the outcome of a vision, how was she going to change Harry's fate?

Sam was sitting with Andy off to one side but Hermione was keeping her distance, she got that he hadn't been the one to kill these people, and he seemed like a nice enough guy but she didn't feel comfortable enough to get close enough to let him whisper in her ear.

'I mean, I got everything I need.' Hermione had to smile at that, she let out the breath she had been holding because unless this guy was an amazing actor then he wasn't going to be taking over the world.

'So you're really not a killer, huh?'

'That's what I've been trying to tell you.'

'That's good, that means there's hope for both of us.' Hermione frowned, worried at how much Sam was staking himself on the actions of other people. It was a fair enough guess that the demon had done something to these children but that didn't mean it was something that was going to corrupt them. Not if they didn't let it; she hoped.

***nh***

Hermione walked slowly down the sidewalk in the dark. Dean had wanted one of them to go with her but she had insisted that she could take care of herself. If this second physic that was lurking about was going to jump her then she could always just silence them. Hermione didn't feel as confident in her conviction as she had projected to still her brothers' fears but they were all hungry, and somebody had to get the food and it couldn't have been Sam because he had to stay with Andy or Dean because he didn't have any defense, so that left her.

Andy had suggested she go to the diner where his girlfriend worked; they apparently had the best pie in the whole county; and there really was no arguing with Dean after that statement. She had her orders and she was enjoying the warm night air. It never got this warm at night back home.

She entered the completely empty diner; it was late and it probably wasn't unusual but Hermione gripped her wand tighter, because there really weren't any such things as coincidences.

'Hello?'Hermione called out. There was no answer but she heard a faint shuffling from the back; at least there was somebody home. The waiter she had labeled creepy came out from the back doorway; she caught a glimpse of the woman, standing out back but it was cut off as the door that separated the front of house and back swung shut.

The man gave her a strange smile and she twisted her lips in greeting.

'Hi, can I grab some pie and whatever else you still have hot.'

'Sorry we're closed.' Hermione looked back at the door; closed sign facing her telling her they actually were still open. It was unfair to leave the door open like that.

'Look do you just have any pie left over; you don't even have to cook anything.' Hermione was getting an antsy feeling; the man was acting strange, his gaze kept drifting to the door where the woman was. From what she had seen earlier they didn't really look like the couple type. She really was getting a bad feeling about all of this.

He gave one last look back and then turned to her with a smile.

'Hey sure, I think we might have some pie left over, let me just go get it.' He went out back and she got another look at the woman, she was standing in exactly in the same position as before and Hermione took her wand out of her pocket where she had put it in anticipation of meeting people.

She kept her wand under the counter, getting ready to have him come back out. She wanted to go and get Dean but she couldn't just leave the lady there with him. God knows what he was going to do to her. Hermione remembered that she was Andy's sometimes girlfriend and given how this guy seemed to have a grudge against Andy she didn't want to think about it.

Andy came out and the woman hadn't moved; still as a statue, and something must have shown on her face. The man followed her gaze and when he met her eyes again his face was cold; crazy. She whipped up her wand and cast the Silencio, and whatever he had been about to say was cut off. She breathed in relief.

'Just stay right there.' Hermione saw the look of concentration on his face and she had a second to think to cast a stunner when she just stopped; stopped thinking, stopped moving, stopped everything but for what the man wanted. He was just such a nice guy, what could it hurt if she took off the silencio. She did and she had a moment of unease before it was washed away.

'Give me the stick.' And she did because what did she need her wand for when she had him. Something twitched in her brain but she shrugged it off, it couldn't be that important; she wondered what else he wanted her to do. There was a noise from the kitchen and he turned his head to look and she broke to the surface; above the sea of ease that his commands had driven into her brain. Silencing hadn't worked; apparently he could do things that Andy couldn't just with his mind, was definitely stronger then Andy.

He turned back to her and she fought against the sense of ease and wellbeing that was dragging her under.

'Go out into the kitchen, it'll be easier if you're both in the same room.' Well okay then, if it would make things easier for him, why shouldn't she? Her brain ticked but she moved forward easily enough, smiled at him because he was being awfully nice even if she was making things harder for him.

The woman stood in the kitchen with tears streaming down her face, she looked scared and Hermione wondered why.

'We're all going to go out the back to the car. Trace is going to ride up front with me while you can go into the back seat. When you get to the back seat I want you to lie down and go to sleep; can you do that for me?'

'Sure, you know I am kind of tired.' They followed his orders and as soon as Hermione crawled into the back seat and her heat hit the leather she felt her eyes closed. She had a moment of utter panic, a moment where she was screaming inside her head and thrashing trying to escape her own mind before she succumbed to her exhaustion.

***BHBHB*

Dean was freaking out. They had gotten the DMV picture of Weber; Andy's evil twin; and Sam had gone pale. Weber worked at the diner Tracy worked at, the diner that Andy had sent Hermione to for the county's best pie. Guilt was eating at Dean but he pushed it back in order to focus. He put his foot down harder and the Impala sped up; not fast enough, not nearly fast enough but doing her best.

They got to the diner; a short drive, and raced inside. Andy scrambled to the kitchen; both brothers hot on his tail, calling for both women, but there was no answer; no sign of either of them.

Dean punched the counter, wanting it to be flesh, wanting to get his hands on the fucker that would dare touch his baby sister. Sam had gone quite and imposing the way he did when he was truly furious.

They got back in the Impala, interrogating Andy on anything he knew about Weber, anything that might tell them where he would take the girls.

Sam threw his head back in agony as he flashed on a vision.

Dean slammed on the breaks, waiting for any answers. Sam opened the door and leaned out; one of the most important rules instilled in every Winchester since childhood; no throwing up in the Impala. John had always been adamant on that order, you could bleed but if you threw up you would be on the worst duty he could think up.

Dean put a hand on his brothers' back, tension thrumming through his body but patient enough to not demand answers.

'They're at a Ravine.'

***THHDG*

Dean separated from Sam and Andy; he was loath to do it but he couldn't risk the fight by being too close to it, not if he couldn't control his actions. He had taken the high powered rifle they kept just in case; it didn't get nearly enough use, but Dean knew how to use it.

He set off into the darkness; trying to find a spot that was far enough away and high enough to get just the right shot. He sped up because he didn't want to miss anything. Not when his sisters life was in the balance.

***NNJ*

Weber was enjoying the show the little bitch was putting on; he gave a quick glance into the back seat to the unconscious one and smiled at the thought of enjoying her too when he was done with this one. He turned back to Tracey; scared little Tracey. He couldn't keep her fear out, not when it was taking practically everything he had to keep the brown haired mystery unconscious. There was something different about her; the way she had made him go silent. He spared a though for her little stick and smiled. If he could control her enough then there wasn't anything he wouldn't be able to do. The yellowed eyed man would no doubt be impressed; if he could control her.

'Hey; Slower. Tracy? I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay? When we're done here, I want you to head over to the edge of that dam, okay?'

'Okay.' Tracey whimpered it and he smiled because he usually missed out on this part; the fear. He usually had enough to make them enjoy it with him, but the fear he could hear, could see in Tracy was intoxicating. It made him wonder why he had wasted his time before when he could have been having this all along.

'And when you get there, you're gonna think you can fly. And you're just gonna step right off. You can fly, can't you?' He watched her panic but he pushed confidence into her; pushed the belief that everything he said was right. The girl in the back twitched.

'Yeah, I think so.'

'You might get scared, but I want you to say that it's okay. Just tell yourself, everything is okay.'

The window beside him was smashed in, a gun was shoved into his face and he smiled.

'You really don't want to do this.' Sam backhanded Weber and dragged him out of the car. Andy ran over and placed the duct tape over his mouth; he got in a few solid kicks before Sam was able to pull him off. Andy had gotten Tracy out of the car and he looked around frantically for Hermione. A blow took him to the back of the head and he was out of it, just as he caught a glimpse of his sister's unconscious form.

***NCB*

Hermione was struggling out of her unconsciousness, it was hard and she was sluggish but she made it. She caught the sound of fighting; yelling and it brought her around faster when she remembered what had happened. She looked out the window; keeping her head as low as she could; Sam was down for the count and Andy was yelling at Weber while Weber tried to coax him into seeing things his way. Hermione looked around but she couldn't see Dean and then there was Tracy standing on the edge of the dam.

The wind was blowing her hair and she looked scared out of her mind and Hermione winced. She looked around desperately for her wand but couldn't see it anywhere. She had read about wandless magic; knew that it took a hell of a lot of power, and she hoped she had it in her; ignored the fear that said she didn't, that she wasn't good enough, never would be.

She opened the car door and tumbled out onto the road, Tracy was lost to her sight but she got the attention of Andy and Weber; Sam was coming too and she held her hand out to Weber. She said the words to stun and put everything she had into it. A red light shot out from her hand and hit him square in the chest.

Weber stumbled but didn't go down; he shook his head in confusion and pressed a hand to his chest as if winded. Hermione almost cried out because she had failed.

'What the hell was that?' Weber seemed to shake it off and Hermione waited for the new orders; was ready to fight it with everything she had. Sam groaned as he woke up further and turned his head to her. He looked at her in relief and she smiled tightly at him; afraid that this might be the last time she saw him.

The spell had taken a lot out of her; it had been like pulling her energy out through her hand and it had left her panting and exhausted.

Then Weber tilted his head and looked off into the distance; back into the forest.

'I see you.' Terror came to Sam's eyes and he whispered one word that set Hermione into a panic.

'Dean.' Hermione pulled her magic around her, everything she had, she prayed and then let go in a wash of power.

The crack was massive, deafening; seconds later it was echoed by two shots.

Weber twitched on the ground; blood spurting from the newly made hole in his back; dying.

Sam watched Andy with sadness. Andy met his eyes briefly but had to look away. He made his way to Tracy; pulled her away from the ledge and just breathed again. His hands trembled as he set the gun on the ground, stepped away from it as if that could take it all away.

Sam got to his feet and started to make his way to where he had heard the second shot; numb with fear. He moved steadily; jerkily until he was jogging and then running as fast as he could.

***HGH*

Dean had been about to shoot himself; rifle barrel tucked up under his chin, unable to stop himself, unable to stop the order, the need to just do it. He had squeezed down on the trigger, fighting, uselessly, with everything he had to pull his finger away. Hermione had appeared beside him with a deafening crack and the smell of ozone. She had pulled the gun from under his chin and the shot had gone wide. The gun had gone off beside his ear and it left a ringing deafness that wasn't going to disappear for awhile.

There had been another shot down with Sam and he had scrambled to look through the gun sight; Weber was down, and Sam was rushing towards them. He breathed out in relief.

He turned back to Hermione and watched on in alarm as she threw her guts up; curling away from him, but not able to move any further then where she had landed. He worried that she had been hurt but there wasn't any blood.

He rubbed circles on back, held her hair away from her mouth and tried to relax.

Sam appeared; crashing through the undergrowth; sweaty and with a little blood along his scalp. Dean smiled in triumph because they had all made it out again; the bad guy was dead and all was well with the world. Sam said something but Dean just shook his head and pointed to his ears. He couldn't hear anything over the ringing.

Sam nodded and pointed to Hermione who was lying on the ground curled up and shaking; practically unconscious but holding on. Dean shrugged, and Sam moved forward to kneel beside her, being careful where he put his knees.

He turned Hermione toward him, onto her back and looked into her eyes; trying to see if she was injured.

Hermione smiled up at him beatifically, incredibly proud of herself, of having saved Dean, of having done the impossible.

'You okay?'

'Yeah, I've never done that before.' Her words were slurred but she couldn't keep the grin from her face.

'What was that?'

'I just apparated; I've only ever read about it or seen it done. I haven't even had my first lesson.' Sam smiled at the pride in her voice; it didn't last long as his worried face came back in full force.

'Was it meant to be like that?'

'No, but I think, without a wand it was a pretty good for a first time.' Sam shook his head at her unrepenteness. He stood himself and helped Dean up before they both pulled Hermione to her feet. Her knees buckled and Sam swung her up into his arms before setting off down back to the cars, back to Andy and the dead Weber.

****BHHBB***

Hermione smiled at the handsome paramedic as he gave her a bottle of Gatorade and a cookie; saying it was for exhaustion and she needed a sugar fix. Hermione shrugged and just grinned at the pretty man. She knew she was acting a little loopy but she was just so tired, couldn't be bothered to sober herself up.

Dean frowned at the man and the way his sister was looking at him; frowned until the man put up his hands in surrender and backed off. Sam got done with having his shoulder mended and they all sat together alone in the melee. They watched Andy talk his way around the cops and Dean felt worry at how good he was at that. His thoughts were echoed by Sam.

Sam continued with his spiel on murder and being pushed into killing people and Dean was left floundering trying to reassure him. Dean didn't understand it, what Andy had done had been done to save people; there hadn't been anything wrong with it.

Hermione put a hand to Sam's face, clumsily, practically slapping him as she tried to find purchase, leaning into him.

'Sam, self defense isn't murder.' She was adamant with her slurring words; trying to get him to understand.

'Sometimes you just have to do what has to be done, and it doesn't make you a monster. Andy did the right thing, you do the right thing. If you start to not see the path of goodness we can just kick you arse until it's so close to your face that you can't help but see it. Don't worry Sam, you think we're going to let some yellow eyed fucker try and take you and make you bad just because he has some big bad plan. That's not our job, our job is to put as many sticks in arse that can fit before he goes crazy from frustration and then we can destroy him because it'll be more fun that way.' She spoke quickly, nodding emphatically and Sam and Dean looked at her in amazement, because she hadn't even breathed through that. Sam wasn't sure that even made sense but he understood the meaning behind the words, knew that he was safe if he had his family.

Dean nodded in agreement and clapped Sam on the shoulder.

'Couldn't agree more, but for the sticks in his arse; that just sounds wrong.' Hermione laughed, high and girlish and Dean couldn't help but smile. He pulled his little sister to him, held her tight between her two brothers. They could do this, they were a family and they could save each other.

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter or Supernatural.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews.**

**Chapter 11**

Dean's was clutching at the dashboard so tightly that his knuckles were white; he kept having to remind himself to ease his grip because he didn't want to damage anything.

'Now gently take the clutch out.' His poor baby bunny hopped forward and he cringed trying to will her to understand just how completely and utterly sorry he was.

'I said gently.'

'It was bloody gentle.' Hermione's hair was practically crackling with her frustration. Dean had insisted she need to learn how to drive, she had told them about her few lessons with her mother over the holidays, but that had been in an automatic; the only car they had. Dean had scoffed because automatics weren't real cars and she was a Winchester and that meant stick shift.

Hermione slammed her foot down on the clutch again, her foot was on the accelerator; gently, but it revved the engine anyway. Dean physically flinched and she did it again, louder this time out of spite.

'Stop it, take the clutch out gently and at the same time push the accelerator in until they catch.' Hermione tried again, almost screamed in frustration when the car gave another little jump forward. She kept going regardless and the car hopped again and again until it gave a last lurch and stilled. She had stalled, again. Hermione felt the tears well up and looked out the window beside her in shame. She hated not being able to do something, not being perfect at it, hated more that she was tempted to cry over this little thing.

'I said until they catch, not until my baby stalls.' Hermione had had it. They had been at it for at least half an hour; had gotten past the 15 minute lecture of what to do and how to do it and then Dean had given her the keys and she had been so happy, but then she hadn't been able to do it. Hadn't even been able to start driving and Dean kept yelling.

'Just try again this time be gentle and do the clutch and accelerator at the same time; take the clutch out until you can feel it take on the gears and then give it more accelerator and gently take the clutch out from there.' Hermione looked back with more determination. She could bloody well do this. She tried it slower, tried to feel for what Dean was saying and gently eased the clutched out at a snail's pace. She felt a shift and she tried the accelerator. She got it moving, got the clutch fully out and she grinned in triumph. She looked at Dean who was still white and clutching at the dash and seat. They went for a couple of meters with everything fine

'Okay now slow to a stop.' Hermione did as she was told and the car jumped to a jarring halt; stalled again.

'You forgot the clutch; you have to put the clutch in when you stop as well.' Dean's voice was high pitched and Hermione just about cried.

'Fine, fine, if you're so good at it why don't you just drive.' It wasn't as cutting as she wanted it to be but Hermione got out of the car and slammed the door behind her. It made Dean yell out in protest but she didn't care. She grew even more angry as Dean started to comfort his car.

Hermione stormed off to their motel room and entered in a flurry, slamming the door behind her. Sam looked up at her and she just glared at him. She glared harsher when he only looked on in amusement, she just dared him to laugh at her.

'You alright?' She heard the snicker.

'Shut up Sam.' Hermione threw herself on the bed and pouted at the back wall. She growled low at his laughter. He got up and touched her shoulder gently in comfort. He yelped at the shock he got from her skin; like static but a little bit more powerful. Hermione snorted herself.

'Serves you right.' Hermione watched Sam as he moved away from her and she tried to reign herself back in. Sam backed up and returned back to his computer. Hermione sighed; she had been charged since recovering from her apparating stint. It was like she had too much magic building up, it became worse when she was angry and she had shocked her brothers several times in the past few days. Them being cooped up together in one small motel room and the confined space of the impala for the last few days had not helped her mood; take into the fact that it was coming up on that time of the month and she really needed to get control of herself before she started to perform uncontrolled magic.

They had left Andy a couple of days ago and made their way to the roadhouse where Ash had given up his research so now Ellen knew about the children and about Sam. Neither she nor Dean had been happy about having a bunch of hunters know about their sibling but Ellen knew and it couldn't be changed now.

They had taken their research and taken their leave of the roadhouse relatively quickly; didn't want to hang around any potential threats even if they were potential allies as well. All three of them had stayed pretty close to each other after that, not hard considering they were living and travelling together but more pronounced. They had all almost died and being close was their unspoken way of dealing with it. But it had been going on for days now and they were all itching to be away from each other; to get some space.

Hermione sat up on the bed and crossed her legs and took her wand out. She hadn't even gotten an owl from anybody for her use of magic so she didn't see why she should not do something to get rid of this pent up energy. She had restrained herself before because of her brothers; didn't want to freak them out anymore after the Weber fiasco. But right now she needed something that was just her, something she knew she could do well in.

Sam had stopped typing on his computer and was watching her; she spared him a glance and was reassured when she didn't see any fear there. It made her breath easier. She racked her brain on what she should work on, wanted to do something that would help them all, wanted to channel it all in ways to help her family.

She'd need something that would be easy to handle, something that wouldn't need magic to use. Something that would ward off a demon.

Hermione began simply, transfiguring rocks she had been collecting with this idea in mind. She wanted to make something like a salt grenade; something that could simply be thrown, explode and shower the vicinity in salt, if she could create something similar that would make a salt circle when it landed, even better. She figured she could make both; one type for demons and one for ghosts.

Hermione became lost in her work; didn't notice the strange looks Sam was giving her, the intense curiosity. She barely pulled her head up in greeting when Dean came into the room, didn't notice his own strange looks or the whispered conversation the two of them had.

It took two hours before she got a prototype for the simple salt bomb. She stood up in anticipation, and it stopped both brothers who had both been researching; watching what she was doing.

Hermione held out what she had made. It was a small round ball, about the size of a tennis ball but smooth in texture with the color of the rocks she had made it out of.

'What is it?' Dean and Sam leaned forward, trying to get a better look.

'It's a bomb.' Both brothers leant back. She looked at them in confusion, not understanding how they couldn't see the brilliance of the little ball.

'A bomb?'

'Yes, a salt bomb, for ghosts.' Dean smirked; enthusiasm building.

****HGHYG***

Hermione revised her ghost bomb; the first had simply exploded when it had been thrown at the ground; showering the entire motel room in salt; covering everything from top to bottom. Dean had given her a look and she had apologized profusely even as Sammy tried to rescue his laptop. She had cleaned up with a few quick incantations, but nobody had been amused. She set herself to revising her idea.

Dean had suggested making it more like a grenade; give them all some time to find shelter before the thing exploded in their faces. Sam had suggested aiming it away from the person that threw it; she did both. Time to test it came and they all hid behind the mattress Dean and Sam had dragged over to cover one corner.

Hermione threw the bomb and all three ducked behind their makeshift cover. Dean gave the fire in the hole call and the bomb exploded; it didn't have much noise more than a faint crack and the rustling of salt being spread everywhere. They gave it ten seconds to let the dust settle before popping their heads up from their cover.

They laughed in triumph at the white salt that completely covered the far wall; their side of the room was clean; it had worked.

Hermione spent the next couple of hours transfiguring more from the rocks Dean and Sam had scoured the parking lot for. She then went on to make the salt circle bomb. That took longer. She had to use Sam as a test subject. He hadn't been happy but he had lost the scissors, paper, rock to his sister. Hermione had done it because she knew how bad Dean was at it and she had wanted it to be fair.

So Sam stood in the middle of the room with Dean and Hermione a little way off; they didn't want to get too close but had refrained from hiding behind the mattress again; didn't want to scare the poor boy. Hermione lobbed the ball and it landed at Sam's feet. It hit the ground and exploded outwards; the ball disintegrated and there was a brief white light before Sam was surrounded by Salt.

This one didn't have a timer, it only had to hit the ground in the vicinity of a person and it would create a salt circle around said person. Hermione figured it would be good for trapping demons or keeping yourself safe inside the circle. Probably not ideal considering how singular the circle was but she figured she could make it so the circle was bigger.

'What if you miss?' It was a fair point from Sam; if your' throwing arm wasn't up to par or your aim was off then it really would be useless, unless you ran to get into the circle; even then you would have to be careful not to disturb the salt.

'How about putting a sight on it, like a smart bomb; you laser the target and the bomb will go to where the laser hits; like a homing device.' Hermione shrugged; she really wasn't up on all the latest muggle technology, but she thought she grasped the idea. Hermione flicked her wand in a specific pattern.

She nodded when she was done and then threw it at Sam again; just a little off to the left so that without her modifications it would have missed him. The ball flew to Sam's right and then seemed to curve in the air. It smacked Sam on his arm and stuck to his jacket sleeve. The bomb exploded and Sam was surrounded by a clean salt circle. Hermione pumped her fist in celebration. She handed a second prototype to Dean and he threw it at her; it hit and she was surrounded by a salt circle. It could be used successfully by a muggle; she'd have to get some to her mother. It made her breathe easier even is she would have to think of a way to get her mother to use it at the right time.

She began to duplicate her creation. She was definitely feeling better, it was nice to know she was actually doing something; being proactive.

***HBHBH****

What had once been her best friend, looked up, covered in blood from where she had been gorging herself on the intestines of one of the boys in their class.

She smiled and it was gruesome; her teeth were stained red with bits of gore caught between them. She almost threw up at the sight. Her best friend, her best friend was gone because this, this thing was not her.

The thing tilted its head, considering her. She felt trapped by its eyes, changed from their usual blue to a sharp yellow with flecks of red. Not human. The thing plunged its hand back into the cavity it had opened in the boy and pulled out a grey, bloody piece of intestine.

It brought it to its mouth, eyes never leaving hers, gripped it with its teeth; normal human teeth and ripped until it snapped a bit off. Snapped it off, chewed slowly then swallowed.

She had to swallow the bile that rose to her mouth. She started to slowly back away, not wanting any sudden movement to startle it. It seemed to sniff the air and then it was crawling slowly forward.

She whimpered, it was crawling on hands and knees, as if it was used to having more limbs then it currently possessed. It wasn't a move that she had seen any human perform. It was otherworldly and evil and it was scaring the crap out of her.

She backed up until her back hit the door; she put her hand behind her and slowly turned the doorknob, even as the creature dragged itself toward her. She was crying and sniffling and was so ready to just start screaming, start screaming and never stop until she just woke the fuck up from this godforsaken nightmare.

'Ellie.' The voice rattled, a deeper timbre then her friend had ever used and she jumped, her hand scrambling to open the door.

'Ellie, you smell of fear.' The thing shuddered as it scented the air, closing its eyes in near bliss.

'Ellie, you smell delicious.' She gave a short scream at that, opened the door and fled through it, slamming it hard once she was clear of it.

She ran as fast as she could, ran instead of screaming, instead of praying. There was nothing but running. She heard a slither of fabric behind her and she knew it was coming, coming to eat her. She whimpered but it was cut off as she panted, because she was safe as long as she just kept running.

A hand grabbed her ponytail and pulled with such strength that she was lifted off her feet and back into the waiting arms of the thing. It pushed its face into her neck and she screamed, screamed as loud as she could. Nobody came for her.

'Shhhh Ellie. It's okay, it's me, it's Jen. Give this to me Ellie, we've been best friends for years, you have to give this to me, you're doing so well.' It held a hand over her mouth, so fucking familiar, and she could smell her best friends scent under the copper tang of fresh blood. The hand loosened just enough.

'Give what?' She breathed out the question and the things hands tightened around her middle in a tight embrace, a hand drifted to her soft stomach. She flashed on its hands going into Jimmy's stomach to retrieve his guts and she pushed it away desperately. The hand didn't move, and she struggled harder.

'You're fear.' The things nails, with matching polish on her own that they had done just days ago, dug into her belly and she gasped. She was crying in earnest, tears streaming down her face and she was panting in fear; snot clogging up her nose.

'That's it, be scared, be very scared.' The thing bit her neck gently, blunt teeth clamping down. She squeezed the flesh harder and harder until it hurt and the skin broke and the thing was lapping at her spilt blood.

She screamed again, screamed and screamed. It didn't help. The thing placed her on her back on the ground, it hovered over her and as she watched the face she had known all her life changed, the mouth widened and her teeth grew and sharpened. She tried to fight; struck out at it over and over. The thing smacked her across the face and it dazed her. It leant over her, its gaping maw open and drooling. The thing tore into her while she was still screaming. Her harsh blows becoming slower and weaker as the thing fed on her entrails. She slipped away slowly into shock. The thing laughed in delight and it was the last thing she heard as she burned and blazed in pain and fear until there was nothing.

***THYTFYUG***

'I think I've got something.' Sam interrupted Hermione and Dean's discussion on more weapons. It was scary how creative they were getting. Hermione held her hand out to her wand which just out of reach in front of her on the bed; she had said she was trying to call it to her; something that he could see would be extremely useful. It hadn't been working and Dean had started to distract her when she had started to becoming more and more frustrated.

They both turned to him and he angled the computer to them.

'A couple of deaths where the victims were partially eaten.'

'Hearts?' Dean asked the question and Hermione stilled because she prayed that it wouldn't be a werewolf; wouldn't be able to face Remus if it was.

'Doesn't say, but the deaths aren't in line with the full moon so I think that rules that out.' Hermione let out a sigh of relief, Dean gave her a look but she wouldn't meet his eyes. She hadn't explained about Remus, how she knew a werewolf and hadn't killed him. Hadn't told Remus of her previous experiences with werewolves; didn't think they would really be able to bond over it.

'Whatever it is, it seems to like the boys; although there has been one female; she was the latest.'

'That's a bit strange.' Hermione scoffed at Dean's understatement. It still threw her how ordinary they could all treat this, she knew she did it too but it was still odd at times.

Dean got up and started to pack his things away in his duffle bag. They had only been waiting around for another hunt; there wasn't anything that would keep them from moving off immediately. Sam started to pack his own things as the boys threw suggestions back and forth, not really helpful without knowing more information but better than doing nothing.

Hermione threw her concentration into her wand for one last go; she breathed deeply and tried to focus the power that she took for granted, that came to easily through her wand but seemed to be stuck without it. She had thought after her two bouts of wandless magic before that it would come easily but she had been wrong. Without the desperate need it was like drawing blood from a stone.

She held her hand out to her wand and focused completely on it.

'Accio.' She whispered the word with as much power as she could and finally, finally the wand jumped the small space into her hand. It left her gasping for breath and sweating, but she had done it and she couldn't keep the smile from her face.

Her brothers applauded her as they had been watching and she grinned at both of them. Dean gave her a pointed look and she got up from the bed, her legs a little wobbly, and started packing her own things. There was no rest, not if they wanted to stop the monsters. She couldn't wait to tell her boys what she could do, couldn't wait to teach them.

To be continued….


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Supernatural.**

**A/N: Sorry for the slight delay, but here is the next chapter; enjoy.**

**Chapter 12:**

Sirius trailed a pattern with his finger over Remus' chest. They were lying together; Sirius had his head on Remus bare chest and was simply listening to his heartbeat as it slowed back to normal.

'Do you think I should talk to Harry?' He gently bit Remus nipple; trying to distract him from the worry in his voice. The worry he got whenever he mentioned Harry. He wanted to do right by the boy after having failed him so extraordinarily, but it wasn't easy especially given the heart attack the little miscreant seemed to want to give him.

'I think you should continue to talk to Harry, about anything in particular?' Remus voice was coaxing and teasing and Sirius sighed in contentment, even as he nipped harder in admonishment. Remus yelped in protest but didn't make any move to stop him.

'You know, the talk.' That got a throaty laugh from Moony, and Sirius pouted because he was being serious. He grinned cheekily because pun intended. Remus pinched his side as if he could read Sirius' mind and his use of the banned joke.

'I think Harry knows about the birds and the bees.' Remus smiled down at Sirius messy black head.

'I know that, the boy's been living in a dorm for the past five years, but I think he should be talked to about, you know, our side of things; what with Ron.' Remus covered his snicker with a cough, because that was going to be amusing. Sirius looked up at him with his mournful grey eyes and Remus amusement died a sudden bloody death, because he could see where this was going; knowing the inevitable he tried to cut that thinking of as soon as he could.

'I think it's a great idea; it would be great for some godfather, godson bonding.' Remus averted his gaze from the whirling vortexes that would drag him under, easily, just like they had always managed to.

'But moony,' Remus winced because the whine was coming into it. 'You gave me the talk, about boys.' Sirius fluttered his eyelashes. Remus smirked in purely masculine way, before getting himself under control.

'Yes, when we were 15 because I was trying to get into your pants. I really don't think that talk is suitable for your 16 year old godson.'

'Well no, but it means you have more experience, and he's practically your godson too, and you were his teacher.'

'For a year.' Remus interrupted, but Sirius continued on as if uninterrupted.

'His teacher, so he would trust you. They both would.' Sirius had gotten his begging look up and going and it was always so effective given the amount of pure dog he could put into it. Remus sighed, because he had never been able to resist it, and it really didn't matter what kind of scheme that was behind it.

Sirius grinned in triumph when Remus sighed, and went back to his werewolf's chest.

***HJINN***

Draco was bored, he had been cooped up in this godforsaken house with nothing but his mother or Snape for company and it was slowly killing him. He was that desperate that he wouldn't have minded socializing with some of the less irritating members of the household. But he had been continuously stonewalled by both adults; they didn't trust the other members to treat him fairly.

Of course they bloody well wouldn't but that wouldn't change anytime soon if they kept him locked up, drinking tea and being made to suffer through their inane chatter on potions and Slytherin politics. He had thought after the first two days that they wouldn't be able to continue on the same few topics forever but he was beginning to think he had been wrong. They would be able to talk about nothing of importance for years all with small smirks on their faces.

The door to the little room opened and Nymphadora Tonks poked her head in. Draco had never been happier to see another person in his life. He twitched his lips up in what he hoped she would recognize as his smile; wouldn't do to go all out and embarrass himself, but he did want her to feel welcome.

'Snape, Narcissa. Could I borrow Draco.' Draco was already standing and moving towards the door before she had even finished. His mother got out a few token protests before he managed to shut the door behind him but he made it out. He leant his back against the door and had to close his eyes in relief.

His cousin let out a short laugh at him and he bristled before he saw his face.

'Thought you could use rescuing, nobody likes being cooped up with their parents, add in Snape and I'm sure there are laws against that type of torture.' Draco smiled in gratitude. He saw her hesitate but he pushed through even if he did dim it down a bit. No need to scare the little Gryffindors away.

'Thank you Nymphadora.' He watched in fascination as her hair bled to a dark red.

'Just Tonks.' She tried to smile through her annoyance but he got the gist of it.

'Very well, thank you Tonks.' Perhaps it was simply loyalty towards her muggle father amidst the time of war. He shrugged; there really was nothing wrong with the name Nymphadora.

She nodded once and moved off down the hall without another word. He stood with his back still to the door and looked after her. She turned back briefly and gave him an impatient look. He almost blushed as he rushed to catch up with her.

'Well now that I've rescued you I figure you can give us a hand with the house.' Ahhh and there was the other shoe. His shoulders slumped, he really wasn't interested in being punished just for being alive, or having the father he did, or you know tormenting the golden trio throughout school.

'Chin up, everybody's helping and Merlin knows it has got to be better than to listening to Snape go on about potions for another day.' He briefly thought that she may have been listening in but decided that was probably all Snape ever talked about. Unfair maybe, considering he had had conversations with the man that didn't even hint towards Hogwarts, but he had just suffered through days of nothing but and he wasn't exactly feeling charitable.

'What are we doing, and who is everybody?' He winced at the thought that it would be Weasley or Potter, he really did not want to deal with them. They hadn't been overtly hostile since he had been there; from what he had seen of them at meal times. Definitely less hostile then he had been expecting, it had made him suspicious, and jumpy. Not to mention the strange fact that Granger wasn't with them. He wanted to know, but he hadn't even teased them about it, just to see what they would do; who said Draco wasn't mature and disciplined.

'Whoever could be drafted, and we are destroying critters; its innocent violence, I thought you could do with a good stress relief.' Draco gave her innocent look a long glance; because that sounded an awful lot like cleaning to him, not matter how prettily she wanted to dress it up.

He followed her regardless because no matter how distasteful, it was definitely better than the alternative. He entered the large room behind her. It had once been a large ball room, and Draco could see through the clutter that filled it and the dirt covered walls that it had once been beautiful. The Blacks had once been a house at the top of every social ladder. It really was a shame that it had fallen into such disrepute.

The room's floor was practically filled to bursting with bits of furniture and clutter; apparently the things that had not been wanted from the rest of the house had gone into this one room.

'The rest of the house is practically done, we just have to clean this one and sort through all the junk.' Junk? Draco could see several priceless items from here, dirty though they were, they would clean up nicely.

'What are you doing with everything?' He asked it as nonchalantly as he could, but if they were going to throw it out there wasn't any reason they couldn't throw it at Draco; even if they had no idea of how much any of it was worth.

'Well, we've thrown out most of the more dangerous stuff.' Draco winced because Merlin only knew what these plebeians had gotten rid of.

'The rest of it is for Sirius to decide, but you are part Black I'm sure if you see something you like you could talk to Sirius about having it.' Tonks smiled at him and he grinned back sarcastically, though she didn't seem to notice, because there was no way Sirius Black was going to let him have anything.

A crash came from deeper within the maze of a room, something hidden away behind the mountains of things. They both looked towards the crash until a faint call of wellbeing came out of the mess.

'That's beside the point though. We currently have an infestation; a cousin to the gnome. It's just something Bill brought back with him from Egypt. They got in here because he didn't clean his trunk out before storing it.' She shouted the last into the room and they got a faint, disgruntled yeah, yeah. She grinned back at him then reached over to a table beside the now closed doors. She picked up a bag and gloves and handed both to him. She picked up a set for herself and began to don them and he followed.

'Real simple, catch the creature, stun it, however you want, then place it in the bag.' She smiled once more and changed her hair to a short spiky blond. She clapped him on the shoulder with her gloved hand and moved off into the room. He sighed in defeat, at least it wasn't potions.

Draco caught his first creature fairly quickly, he had barely set foot into the maze of junk; he grabbed it by its legs and smashed its head into the ground. Huh, this was fun. He placed the unconscious thing into his bag and went hunting for more.

Draco came upon several members of the household during his hunt; Kingsley Shacklebolt had given him a nod of acknowledgement that he had returned even as the man had been crawling across the floor chasing several of the little sand colored creatures. Completely undignified, yet Draco couldn't help but feel a small swell at the man's acceptance. It annoyed him that he cared at all, but there it was.

The two older male Weasley's; Charlie and Bill had been stomping their creatures into submission and using their wands' to collect the unconscious critters. Draco had been quick to move on before they had a chance to notice him.

The twins had noticed him, but they had seemed to be having just a bit too much fun in their collection antics and Draco had been quick to escape uninjured but for a few stray bites.

A few of the other adult members of the house had joined the pest control and Draco felt relieved that it wasn't a punishment, that he was being included in the household even if it were to kill pests.

***BHBHB****

Ron was busy concussing gnomes and Harry was busy enjoying the view. Just because they had both agreed to wait until Hermione got back didn't mean he couldn't look. It was definitely more fun now that he knew there was going to be a future in it; it built the anticipation. Ron bent at the waist; yep Harry was pretty sure the anticipation was going to kill him.

Draco came out from behind a corner, his back to them and Harry quickly straightened; his muscles tensed, ready for the fight that would usually come from any of their meetings. He caught himself though and tried to make himself relax; if Draco was going to be here for a while then it really wouldn't do to be continuously spoiling for a fight.

Harry coughed and both Ron and Draco turned to him. They all stood there, staring at each other in silence, and it was so incredibly awkward. Harry hated it, because Grimmuald Place was not meant to be a place where he felt awkward, or out of place. He got enough of that at The Dursleys; this was supposed to be a safe place, where he could live with Sirius and Remus and Ron and Hermione, and he was not about to let that get ruined.

'Draco.'

'What?' Draco was hostile and Ron bristled beside him and Harry sighed.

'Nothing, I was just acknowledging you.'

'I don't need your acknowledgement.' Harry gripped the bridge of his nose and hung his head.

'I wasn't just going to ignore you.' Draco looked at him like he was an idiot and he scowled back.

'I think I'd really rather you just ignore me, and then I can go ahead and just ignore you.' Ron looked like he was ready to nod and agree, probably would have if it hadn't meant agreeing with Malfoy.

'No, that isn't going to work anymore; if you really are a part of the good guys now, then we are going to have to get along. We don't have to like it, but I for one don't want to tiptoe around each other. Not on the holidays. When we get back to Hogwarts we can go back to the way things were but until then I'm calling for a truce.' Ron winced but grudgingly nodded in agreement, and Harry was relieved because he really did not want to be the one in the middle of those two if they continued fighting. Draco just looked stumped, before he slowly nodded as if trying to figure out the trick.

'Alright fine, we can have a truce for here. But as soon as we get to kings cross it ends, we can go back to normal.'

Harry nodded and stuck out his hand for Draco to shake; he looked at it like it was poisonous but slowly put his own hand out. Harry shook it firmly and released it. Ron grabbed it and they both shook on it. Then they simply stood there, in silence, awkwardly.

Draco whirled on the spot and disappeared into the maze without another word and Harry slumped slightly in defeat. Oh well, better than nothing. Ron gave him a look and Harry shrugged.

'Worth a shot.'

'At least he agreed.'

***TH***

They were all together in the library; Ron, Harry, Ginny, Fred and George, and Draco. They had managed to hide themselves away after the little critter's numbers had dwindled drastically. It had been fun and hard work, and they were all taking the time to rest.

Draco had joined them without words and nobody had argued; the twins had shared a wordless conversation but Harry had managed to discourage any action on their part with a couple of pointed looks.

Ron grabbed the chess board and sat himself down in front of a startled Draco; he started setting up a game. Draco raised an eyebrow.

'I've beaten the rest of them; let's see how well you play.' He pointed to the rest of the room, all looking on in curiosity and anticipation.

Fred and George both joined the boys; they split themselves up; Fred went to Draco while George sat down next to Ron.

'5 sickles on Ron.'

'You're on.'

'Please we've got the Slytherin, Chess champion or not, Ron's going down.' Ginny joined Fred and sat on Draco's other side. Draco glared briefly at the Slytherin comment, but concentrated back on the game.

'Please, have you ever seen Snape play chess. He's like the ultimate Slytherin, and he still got his arse handed to him by Moody.' Harry sat himself down beside Ron, and clapped him on the shoulder in support.

'Like Moody was ever a Gryffindor.'

'Hufflepuff if ever I've seen one.' The twins nodded at each other solemnly.

'Moody was not a Hufflepuff, he's too tough.' The twins shook their heads at their sister; Poor naïve little girl.

'That is just what they want you to think.'

'Yeah look at Dumbledore; he was a puff.' It was Draco's turn to scoff.

'Please Dumbledore's all Gryffindor; bleeding heart and all.' Harry shook his head at that.

'No, I've got to go with the twins on this one. Ravenclaws are the smart ones, Slytherin's are the bad sneaky ones; Gryffindors are cannon fodder and the Puffs will just fuck you up and convince you it was for your own good.' They all laughed at that one; even Draco although he looked ashamed that he had let them see even that much. Ginny patted him on the shoulder and smiled when he turned to her.

'You are allowed to smile you know, we won't tell anyone.' Draco just looked at her and she upped the wattage of her smile, he started to fidget in discomfort.

'Look Draco, since you are here for the long term can we drop the whole school house rivalry. We're on the same side now and we can be friendly without it being a bad thing.' Ginny looked at him beseechingly and Harry watched as all three male Weasley's bristled.

Draco himself was shocked that he had basically the same offer of a truce twice in such a short time. He was beginning to think that maybe they actually meant it.

'Unless you don't really want to be on the same side?' Fred got all of their attention with the anger in his voice, the pure threat. He was sitting very close to the young Malfoy and was a lot bigger than the younger boy; it made for a great intimidation tactic. Draco swallowed as he watched the threat, Merlin he was sick of this all.

'Look, we burned our bridges; this is all there is left for me and my mother. I will not abandon her to this house, so yes I am on your side.'

'That isn't very reassuring, if those are your only reasons.' Fred practically cracked his knuckles but Harry and Ron were looking at him differently.

'Alright.' Fred, George and Ginny all looked shocked at Harrys' quiet words.

'You can't be serious.'

'Yes I can, look you'd do anything for your family right? It's what's important, I think we can all agree on that. Draco I'll accept that you're with us, but you betray us and I think it'll be Hermione you answer to. Sound fair to you?' Draco nodded slightly and he nodded back. He spared glances for the rest of them and tried to convey that he would stand by it, they nodded grudgingly.

'Alright then, I'll up the bet to ten sickles on Ron.' The game slowly got underway after a rocky start, until Draco and Ron were battling it out with gusto.

The door to the library opened and Fred and Georges' teams' war cry's slowly died off. Standing in the doorway was Sirius and Harry stood up in alarm. He looked worried, pale and rumpled.

'Sirius, what's happened?' He didn't ask who but the words seemed to ring through the air anyway.

'Oh no, nothing like that, I just need to talk to you, um, you and Ron. If we could talk, privately, dinner is soon so hopefully it won't take long.' Sirius was wringing his hands and wiping them down the legs of his pants in a nervous gesture; it was not reassuring. Harry shared a worried look with Ron who had stood up beside him.

'Sure Sirius. Draco we'll finish this game later.' Ron clamped a hand down on Harry's vibrating shoulder. He knew that the other boy would be going off on wild tangents. He silently cursed Sirius because it would not have killed him to come in with a smile. With how tight Harry had been wound lately, regardless of the calm he had been trying to portray, it was a wonder he wasn't jumping at Sirius' throat already demanding answers.

He and Harry followed the frantic, twitchy man out of the library and into one of the other rooms. They both felt a level of tension drop from them when they saw Remus sitting calmly in one of four chairs. That they were set up two against two wasn't exactly reassuring and Ron had the vague worry that this would be the talk on the trouble they usually got to during school. Or the fiasco with Umbridge, or hell any number of things.

Sirius sat beside Remus and Harry and Ron settled themselves into the two chairs opposite.

'Boys.' Well that was ominous; Remus was using the voice he had reserved for the really serious lectures when he had been their teacher.

'Boys, it has come to our attention that the two of you have started a relationship.' Silence, complete and utter silence. Ron closed his eyes slowly as a small ball of dread settled in his stomach. Oh, Merlin, he had had this talk with his father, it had been mortifying then. To have it now with his teacher, his supposed relationship's father figure, and Harry was going to be nothing short of torture. He spared a short glance at Harry who had the deer in headlights look going for him, it wasn't exactly attractive, not with how pale he had gotten. Ron could feel his ears heat up and he finally looked back at the adults.

'I've already had the talk.' Ron was not above sacrificing Harry, he really wasn't.

'Well yes, I spoke to your mother and she agreed that it would be best if you had it again, with us, to discuss our side of things. As you may know already, Sirius and I are together, and if you and Harry are going to go forth, down this path, then we all believe it would be best if we were to talk to you boys about it.' Ron almost groaned, because dear Merlin they had talked to his mother, and she had agreed and that meant his father knew, which meant Bill probably knew, and if Bill knew Charlie would know and there was nothing the twins didn't know. Oh god he was never, never going to live this down. Just kill him now. He slumped in his chair in defeat.

Sirius was panicking, just a little bit. This was James's boy, this was his godson. He and James had discussed how the talk was going to take place. Their plan had been to take the boy to a strip club and explain the wonders of sex. It had been a quick plan, and they had been a little bit drunk when they had made it. Lily had told James of her pregnancy and James had panicked. He had apparated to Sirius's apartment completely terrified, and babbling. It had been the funniest thing Sirius had ever seen, and considering he and Remus had been in one of their off again parts of their relationship, he had needed it. of course it had been less funny when he had learnt just what Lily had dropped on the poor man.

Sirius had done the best mate thing, and taken him out to a strip club and had gotten them both completely stonkered. Apart from the continued I'm too young for this laments that admittedly issued from both of them, they had gotten used to the idea pretty quickly. There had been dreams of quidditch little league, and raising a handsome strapping lad if it had been a boy, or quidditch little league and raising a beautiful headstrong lady if it had been a girl. Sirius was also pretty sure there had been talk of raising a mutant tentacle wielding child, but he had never been quite able to remember if that had actually happened.

Either way they had been in a strip club and it had seemed appropriate that a boys' first sex talk should happen in such a fine establishment so he could see what was happening in case he was a visual learner. There would of course be no sex talk for their little girl, not if they could help it, and Merlin save any boy who tried to change that.

Now here Sirius was, with Harry, about to give the sex talk; with no strippers, no girls and no James. It was making Sirius sad and angry and he was so incredibly out of his depth that he was terrified. He wondered if this was what James had felt like, having this much responsibility shoved onto you, and knowing that you weren't good enough for it. Sirius had already failed the boy so much, how could he possibly succeed now.

Then Moony began and he relaxed slightly in increments. He could do this if he had Moony, Moony was smart, and intelligent, and knew about these kind of things. He had been living in the world for the past 16 years, had been having conversations with people; had been a teacher for fuck's sake. He knew how to talk to children about things. Sirius had prison as his experience, and it wasn't really inductive to these kinds of situations, but if Moony could lead, then he could definitely follow.

***HGHGH***

Harry and Ron walked into the kitchen in a daze. It was filled already, and the dozen different conversations trickled off as the two boys sat themselves down without touching, something that was out of place, especially in the last few days.

'Is everything alright?' Ginny asked the question quietly and Harry nodded while Ron shook his head.

Sirius and Remus entered the room and everybody looked to them for an explanation.

'Everything is fine we just had a talk with the boys is all.' Remus clapped a hand on both boys' backs in comfort. Fred and George looked at each other with glee before bursting into laughter. Ron dropped his head to the table with a heavy clunk and groaned in embarrassment. The twins started to make kissy faces as both boys and Harry threw a handful of mashed potato at one of the twins; he didn't really care which one.

The flying projectile was halted in mid air; Mrs. Weasley had her wand out and pointed in a blink of an eye.

'None of that now.' The woman had obviously had practice at halting food fights.

Harry looked at everyone as if daring them to start, daring them to give him a reason. Sirius smiled back at him and he quickly looked away. His godfather had eventually gotten over his fear or whatever it had been and had been enthusiastic in his advice. It had been mortifying, especially with Ron sitting right next to him; although he couldn't quite ignore the humming warmth that had settled in his heart. Sirius and Remus had acted like real fathers, to him, it left him stunned.

The meal continued with some lewd jokes from the twins and some gentle teasing from both Bill and Charlie. Moody grabbed Harry's attention and began to discuss some reading material he would be reading in the next couple of days in preparation of his and Ron's upcoming training.

Ginny yelped and all conversation stopped. She blushed red in embarrassment but took a golden galleon from her pocket. The twins, Harry and Ron all tensed even as the adults looked on in puzzlement.

'What does it say?' Alarm rose, worry for the other DA members.

'Am fine, using magic, call soon. Xx Hr.' Harry practically dived over the table and plucked the coin from a stunned Ginny's hand. He brought it back between him and Ron and they both studied the coin.

'What does that mean?' Snape asked the question of the moment but was ignored by both boys. Ginny turned to him and explained to the still clueless adults.

'It's a coin we used in the DA; The serial number could be changed to show when the next meeting was on; Hermione must have changed hers.' There were a few disgruntled mumblings about the DA, and the trouble these children got into. Snape looked intrigued.

'How did you do that?'

'Hermione used the protean charm. I think she said she got the idea from the dark mark.' Snape gripped his forearm where his own mark was and scowled. Ginny shrugged, he had asked.

'She's using magic, how is that possible?'

Harry looked up at Kingsley Shacklebolt and shrugged innocently.

'Different laws in America.'

'So she's in America.' Ron gave Tonks a look and she shrugged, had to be sure.

'Why is Miss Granger in America?' Mrs. Malfoy asked the question and both Harry and Ron stared at her hard, not sure they wanted to trust the information with her. The decision was taken out of their hands by Sirius.

'She's visiting with her brothers, her father died and she went to stay with them for awhile.'

'I thought her parents were English and denfists.' Draco asked and Harry and Ron both turned to him in surprise as did most of the room.

'What?' Draco started to look discomforted.

'When did she tell you that?'

'We were fighting and she kind of yelled it at me.' Draco really did not like the way Harry and Ron were staring at him.

'It's Dentists, and they are, but her father was an American. He was killed just before she got here, and she took a portkey to go meet her brothers.'

'Who killed him?' Snape jumped on the strange wording, they had led him to believe the man had simply died, not been killed by somebody.

'What?' Ron tried for innocent.

'He was killed, did somebody kill him?' Harry and Ron both shook their heads in the negative. Snape let it go for the moment but he would not forget it; they were lying. There was a big difference between a father dying and being murdered.

'I still don't understand how we never knew of this.' Mrs. Weasley looked distressed, and Ron had to bolster himself against it.

'She didn't like to talk about it, things weren't that good between them, he didn't exactly take the whole witch thing well.'

It was surprising but Snape looked the most alarmed by the news out of all the adults.

'What do you mean not well?'

'He basically threw her out of home, and she came back to England to live with her mother.' Ron's mother gasped in dismay, and the rest looked suitably horrified.

'And now she's with these people?' Snape would not let it go and Harry began to get defensive.

'She's with her brothers, her fathers' dead.'

'Still perhaps we should contact her; if they grew up with that hatred of magic they may be mistreating her.' The whole table was looking at Snape in shock and he looked discomforted himself but still he persisted. Harry's frown grew darker.

'Don't tell me you care?' Sirius scoffed at the man, no matter how civilized they had been acting towards each other, they still had a history that would not be forgotten in a matter of weeks.

'Wha?, I am not just going to sit by while anybody may be being abused, no matter what you think of me.' Snape sneered at the man he had hated for practically his entire life.

'Good fucking job.' Harry said it quietly, but the room stilled and it created a void of silence that nobody seemed to want to fill. He slammed his knife down on the table and rose from his seat. He wasn't looking at anybody, wouldn't meet anyone's eyes as he stormed out of the room.

The adults looked on in confusion. Ron stood up himself and threw them a look of contempt.

'You're all idiots.' He followed Harry out of the room.

Snape was staring at the door way, hard. As if he could draw them back to the room in order to explain. Sirius had stood and had made to follow before Remus had grabbed his wrist to halt him. Remus was watching it all as the guilt slowly consumed him, ate him from the ground up. He knew what that kind of outburst meant.

The twins and Ginny had all converged together.

'You do know about Harry's relatives? You do remember the fact that we had to break him out of his own bedroom lock down in his second year? You do know he lived in a cupboard before he got his Hogwarts lette,r right?' The room was stunned and the twins looked ashamed of them all.

'Ron's right, you are all idiots.' The twins both exited the room, leaving Ginny to stare them all down.

Her mother rounded on her.

'You knew this? You knew and didn't tell anybody?' Ginny scoffed at the blame in her mothers' tone.

'You would have had to be blind not to see it.' She got up herself and followed her brothers out of the room.

Draco sat, glued to his chair as the adults discussed the world shattering news of their boy-who-lived. Shacklebolt was yelling for the arrest of the relatives, while Moody was putting forth the idea of simply obliterating them. They were all silenced when a fierce growl cut through the air. Remus stood and threw his plate and it smashed into the wall. His chair crashed to the ground and he began to pace, a continuous rumble accompanying him. Sirius stood himself and placed himself between the enraged werewolf and the rest of the table.

'Moony?' Remus stared at him with golden eyes and the rest of the adult gasped. Draco was silent in his fear and he heard Snape's soft curses from beside him.

'I say we kill them.' The words were growled and not wholly human.

'I agree Moony, but you have to calm down, I need you to plan it. You know how bad I am at planning, look how badly my last one turned out.' The statement didn't seem to calm the werewolf whose growls only grew.

'Remus, you're scaring people.' Sirius' voice became sharper and he moved forward a couple of steps. Remus tracked his every movement.

'They should be scared.' The growl was a little less and Sirius started to breathe a little easier; he just needed to get Remus out of the room and get him to vent his anger a little bit. He moved passed him without touching and stepped into the doorway, Remus turned so his back was to the table, and facing Sirius. He slowly tilted his head; exposing his neck and Remus stepped up to him. He put a hand on the back of his neck and squeezed tightly before stepping out of the kitchen, taking Sirius with him.

***UJBJB***

Harry had gone up to his and Ron's room, and thrown himself face first onto their bed. They still hadn't separated it from when Hermione had been there. God he missed her. He heard Ron enter the room behind him and shut the door.

'I just did that didn't i?' The question was muffled, his face still pressed into the pillow.

'Afraid so.' Ron's voice was carefully neutral.

'In front of everyone, oh god, in front of Snape and Malfoy. Fuck.' Harry had sat up and his breathe was coming in pants.

'Calm down, the little shite won't say anything.'

'But they know.' His breath was coming faster and he was looking at Ron with such pain that it brought a sharp lump to the boys' throat.

'Good, now that people know something can be done about it; they can get what they deserve.'

'Good? Good?' Harry was getting angry, because there was nothing in this that was good. He stood up and pushed Ron. Ron stumbled before stepping into Harry's personal space and pushing back. Harry threw the first punch; Ron deflected it and pushed him away. Harry came back with more violence; trying to hit the other boy, trying to cause some kind of pain. Ron managed to grab the smaller boy; and pin his arms to his side. Harry tried to bring his knees up and Ron tackled him back onto the bed. Harry was wild; fighting, kicking, and biting anything he could reach. Ron pinned him to the bed for a second and they were both hard.

Harry rolled them and Ron didn't fight it; let Harry on top of him to grind their groins together. He moaned and latched his mouth to Harry's neck. Ron rolled them again and he was on top; he started humping and neither boy could stop. It was harsh and violent and over in minutes. In the aftermath they lay together; pants sticky, legs still clamped around each other, panting.

'Fuck.' Harry stared up at the ceiling blankly, Ron still on top of him, pinning him to the bed.

'Yeah.' Ron wasn't even trying to keep his weight off of Harry, his forehead pressed into the mattress below him, the other boy's breath in his ear.

'She's going to kick our arses for telling.' Harry brought a hand up and ran it through Ron's hair, Ron rolled off a bit to allow Harry breathing room.

'Well at least it means she'll have to come back to do it.'

'Yeah.'

To be continued…


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The impala roared into the town that had held the murders of six of the local teenage boys and one girl. The murders had been bloody and horrifying; loved children turned into so much meat. Within minutes the impala was reported to the local sheriff; just as everything unusual had been reported for the last few weeks.

Bad Company was blaring and Hermione and Dean were sitting up front and yelling along, while Sam tried in vain to ignore them, squashed into the back seat. Hermione had been convinced by Dean to drive; it had been a shaky start but she had been going for the past four hours and she was definitely getting the hang of it. The fact that as driver she got the privilege of picking the music was just the icing on the cake. It was the Impala and she was finally singing for her; Hermione had never before felt like such a Winchester. Her laughter was carefree and full throated regardless of the situation they were driving into.

Dean was enjoying himself; this was what hunting was meant to be, riding into town like the conquering heroes with family and good times; knowing that no matter what was coming they would be able to beat it. He had missed this; hadn't really had these kinds of hunts after his father had disappeared, hell hadn't had one true one since before Sam left. It was good to be getting back to it.

The headlights and siren cut across the music and Dean turned the music off and looked behind him. Hermione tried to turn around as well but he just pointed straight ahead.

'Alright slow down, pull off to the side of the road and breathe easy. Damn it, we won't be able to use the feds one this time.' Dean shared a worried look with Sam, trying to think of what other personality they could use that would get them in with the cops, especially if they were meeting them now.

'No wait, you guys keep the Fed angle and just follow my lead. Dean you're my brother and Sam's your partner. What name do you guys want?' Hermione

'Rogers and Kirke.' Dean got their id's out and handed Sam his. Hermione turned the music back on and they all waited for the police to come to the window.

The officer knocked on the window and Hermione wound it down.

'Hello.'

'Hello miss, can you tell me what speed you were doing?'

'I wasn't speeding.' Hermione put all of her indignation into her voice and she turned to Dean.

'I wasn't.'

'Miss if I could have your license and registration please.' Dean leaned over Hermione so he could see out the window; he flashed his badge and gave the man a charming smile.

'Sorry officer, I'm agents Rogers and this is my partner agent Kirke.' Dean pointed to the back seat and Sam gave the agent a bored stare.

'You two here for the murders?' The cop looked at Hermione as if he didn't want to talk about such things in front of her.

'Yes we are. May I get out?' It was always important that you asked before getting out of the car if you were stopped by the police, wouldn't do to get shot by a jumpy officer. The man nodded and Dean stepped out and moved around the car to step up beside the officer.

'Sorry about that, she's my little sister.'

'Why did you bring her?' The cop was accusing and Dean could understand it but just shrugged.

'Our father died recently and there really wasn't anybody else she could stay with; so I've brought her under the strict instructions that she do exactly what I say.'

'I really would not recommend that, it's very dangerous.'

'I am well aware of that; I've seen some of the photos.'

'Well yeah but the last one, just a couple of days ago was a girl; looked to be around her age. You shouldn't be bringing her into such things.'

'Officer I understand, but I'd rather have her with me then alone somewhere else.'

'Just keep her safe, it'd be a real shame to see what happened to those other kids happen to her.' Dean nodded solemnly.

'So are we free to go? I'd like to get to our motel sometime today; still have to get over to see the sheriff.' The officer nodded.

'Yeah Sheriff Daniels will be at the station for another couple of hours yet. You're free to go; it's just been procedure to stop the cars coming into town; make sure we don't get any more trouble. Dean nodded as if he understood perfectly and they shook hands.

You're sister wasn't really doing anything, maybe just keep the music down.' Dean gave the officer a small grin, trying to keep it hidden from the car.

'You tell her that and I have no doubt my partner will be incredibly grateful.' The officer looked down at Sam's pouty profile and grinned. Dean got back in the car and the officer leaned down into Hermione's window again.

'Well miss you're free to go, maybe if you'd just like to turn the music down some.' Sam leant forward over the seat and switched the radio off. Hermione gave him a sharp look as he sat back.

'You heard the officer, music off.' Sam mouthed a silent thank you to the officer and the man laughed as he walked off.

Dean waved as the officer drove past them and turned back to Hermione. They grinned at each other. Hermione flicked the music back on and Sam groaned.

They drove through the quite town accompanied by suspicious looks before backtracking to the motel they had seen. It was on the outskirts of the town and surrounded by woods. Sam booked them in while Hermione practiced parking with Dean. They entered the room and immediately began fortifying it. Dean salted the windows and Hermione placed some of her salt bombs strategically around the room, just in case. Each of them had been given a number of the bombs to be carried with them at all times. Sam was busy putting up the research they had gathered around the walls of the room.

Room organized, Dean and Sam changed into more appropriate clothes for FBI agents.

'Hermione you go downtown see what you can find out from any of the local kids. We'll go down to the police station and we'll meet up in that diner on the corner of the cross roads. Hermione nodded and prepared herself with her little bombs, holy water, wand. It was agreed that until they got closer to finding out what this thing was, closer to taking it down she wouldn't carry a gun; it would look very bad if she were caught with it.

***HDHD***

Hermione had gone down to one of the coffee houses that seemed to hold nothing but teenagers and had sequestered herself into a booth and let herself observe the populace. Everyone was laughing and talking and on the surface everything looked normal until you took the time to look deeper, longer. The laughter was quieter then it would have normally been, less carefree. They all looked tired and sad and trying so very hard to not show it that it was just a little bit heartbreaking.

A boy entered and the place went silent for just a few heartbeats before the noise returned; quieter than before. Hermione studied the boy; he was tall with dark black hair and was wearing a letterman jacket and had the physic of an athlete. He also looked miserable, haunted and messy as if he hadn't been to bed in days.

She watched as he was greeted by many of the young women in the place, all consoling while the guys clapped him on the shoulder as he walked past. He sat himself down, alone in a booth beside near the back of the shop; right next to the toilet.

Hermione left it until he received his coffee then she walked casually past his table. She managed to trip herself and knock the table; spilling his drink across the table and across his front. Hermione apologized profusely; making her accent a lot thicker. She ran to get him napkins and handed them to him, didn't want to go too far and start patting him down.

'I'm really, very sorry. I'll buy you another one.' She motioned for the waitress and tried to ignore all the suspicious eyes on them as she sat down with him. Nobody had come over to rescue him and for that she was grateful.

She gave him a concerned look and watched as he averted his gaze; as if the last thing he wanted right then was more sympathy.

'Are you alright?' She gently touched his arm and he looked back at her.

'You're not from around here are you?'

'No, I just arrived with my brother and his partner.'

'Well you should be careful, things are bad around here lately.'

'Yeah, they are FBI; it's kind of why we're here.' He looked at her intently at that and she made herself blush and look away in admonishment.

'Oh hell, did you know one of the, victims?' He nodded and she made to rise from her seat.

'I'm really sorry, I probably shouldn't be talking to you.' He grabbed her wrist and she sat back down.

'They brought in the FBI?' She made sure to appear hesitant.

'Yeah, but I don't know much, and I really shouldn't be talking to you. I'm sorry.'

'Wait, please. My girlfriend was killed, Ellie. She was the latest and if you know anything, god, nobody will tell me anything.' He looked ready to cry and she felt incredibly guilty that she was lying to him but knew that they were the best chance of stopping whatever had killed his girlfriend.

'I'm so sorry. What's your name?'

'Ray.'

'What happened Ray.'

'Guys have been going missing and winding up dead for a while now, bloody and like animal attacks. Then last week Ellie went missing; there was a massive search and they found her dead like the others.' Hermione nodded in sympathy and handed him a napkin to dry his eyes.

'Do you think it was animals?' Ray shook his head silently.

'Nobody really thinks its animals; they haven't just been found in the woods; some of been found in the new houses being built around town. It wasn't animals, there's some sick fuck out there killing us. Or why else would they bring in your brother?'

'Did you think it was an outsider or somebody in the town who was doing this?'

'It had to be an outsider; nobody here would do something like that.' Hermione patted his arm in sympathy.

'Please do you know anything?'

'We just got in, they're at the station right now, so I really don't know anything, and they aren't going to tell me much, but give me your phone number and I'll try and tell you whatever I do find out.' He looked incredibly relieved and Hermione had to look away.

**HDHHDH***

Dean and Sam entered the police station with the arrogant walk that they had perfected when playing any type of authority figure. Sam had always been better at it, Dean never quite comfortable in the getups but he managed. It made playing good cop, bad cop easier.

They were greeted with the usual hostility that comes with stepping on someone's toes. Sam had the role of acting the hardass; while Dean had the harder task of trying to befriend the locals. It wasn't his usual role, mainly because he couldn't help his sarcasm but he had drawn the short straw so he was stuck.

Things were going nowhere fast; they didn't want to share information, didn't want to be helped by some punk ass fucks who just by the suit they wore thought that they were better than everybody. Dean could empathize but that didn't mean he wasn't gritting his teeth in frustration. They didn't want strangers interfering on something that was local, something that an outsider had no right to step in; not when they had no personal interest. The Sherriff knew the kids that had died, his son went to school with them; he made it clear that he had known every single one of them. To have these strangers come in and want to gape at the crime scene photos, at what had been done to these children was making him see red.

Jeffries; the cop they had met earlier walked in and talked to them like he had known them his whole life; talked to them like they were friends. Dean latched onto the man like he was his last hope, he kicked Sam none to gently and his brother switched gears so they were both the country boys who had moved onto bigger things but had never forgotten their roots.

They garnered sympathy with having the kid sister travelling with them; she had nowhere else to go and protective instincts were protective instincts. After what had happened to little Ellie it wasn't surprising. What it was; was unusual; what kind of Feds travelled to assist in a murder with family in tow. It was unusual and it was making the sherriff not trust them; it was a problem but the brothers were beyond used to it. The sherriff took Jeffries aside to have a furious chat about loyalty and just who he was throwing his in with.

The cops returned to the brothers' side and things travelled smoother, if still a little bumby. They were allowed to see the crime scene photos, because there wasn't any getting out of that. The sheriff acted friendly, friendlier then before Jeffries had arrived but he watched them. Jeffries gave him a look and he shook his head minutely. Dean noticed but pretended .They left without taking copies, not that they hadn't asked but he wasn't giving something like that to be released into the wider world; god knew what would happen if Dave at the local paper got his grubby hands on any of them.

**DJDJ**

'Well it could be any number of things.' Sam was typing away on his laptop while taking sporadic bites of his food.

'Ray said that some of them had been found in the new houses that were being built; that could mean something.' She had made the point before but now they were just going over everything that they had found out; trying to find a pattern.

'No there's nothing on the history of any of the houses; I think they were just used because they were empty.'

Dean had their father's journal before him and was flicking through it.

'ah ha.' Sam called in triumph; like he had made the best discovery. He turned the laptop so both Dean and Hermione could look at it.

'Succubus? But there was a girl killed.' Dean looked at some of the drawings that accompanied the article; they did have an uncanny resemblance to the crime scene photos.

'Maybe it's a team thing; Succubus and Incubus working together?'

'Yeah, maybe.' Dean wasn't convinced but it really was the best thing they had come up with.

'How do we find it, and how do we kill it?'

'Exorcism?'

'I still think they were hiding something, you saw the looks they were throwing each other. There is something we're missing.' Dean was adamant.

'What, you want us to break into the police station, see if they have any files?' Sam was sarcastic but Hermione and Dean shared a conspiratorial look.

'Dibs.' Hermione laughed at her brother's shocked looks.

'Are you sure that's wise?' Hermione gave Sam a dirty look.

'I am perfectly capable, and I mean it's not like it'll be the first time.'

'You break into a lot of places at that school of yours.'

'Dean it's a boarding school; that means school 24 7. Where else am I going to do the breaking and entering.'

'I think what Dean meant was, Why are you breaking and entering at your school.' Hermione looked away from Sam's admonishing gaze.

'Harry and Ron are always getting into some mischief or other, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't save them from themselves?"

'uh huh.' Sam gave her a skeptical look and Hermione returned with an innocent widening of her eyes. Dean grinned in triumph.

'You are a little trouble maker, I bet you make the teachers lives hell, don't you?' Dean looked so proud, and Hermione spluttered.

'No, teacher's love me.'

'Except for the ones that don't.' Hermione thought of Snape and Umbridge and all of her Defense professors.

'Well that is hardly my fault.'

'Sure, sure.' Hermione huffed in annoyance at Dean's disbelieving tone; it wasn't her fault so many of her teachers just happened to be dangerous.

***HNG***

That night a call came in from the local police; apparently they had another body, another kid half eaten by whatever monster was out there. It was the perfect opportunity for Hermione to look at those photos. Dean drove them all to the station and they left Hermione in the station under the guise of being worried for her safety. The sheriff gave his stiff agreement and Hermione was left to sit innocently, watched by a lone officer while the rest of them rode out to see what was left of young James Fenech; the latest victim.

Hermione sat beside one of the desks in an uncomfortable chair that she assumed was usually reserved for a perpetrator. Hermione shifted in her seat and it groaned. She looked up at her 'babysitter' and gave him a shy smile. He smiled back and she looked away.

'Did you want anything to drink?'

'Sure that'd be great, I can get it. I wouldn't want to disturb you.' He nodded and pointed out the kitchen and Hermione made a quick escape.

Out of sight of the officer Hermione frantically looked around, trying to find the place where the files would be kept. Hermione located the file room and opened it with a quiet alohomora. She was quick and methodical in her search, but there was nothing related to the case, nothing recent; it was all old closed cases. Hermione cursed quietly and locked the door behind her. The other options were at the desks of the officers; only problem being the lone officer.

Hermione quickly decided on a sleep spell, a stunner would have been too obvious and if she could combine it with a confusion charm then hopefully he wouldn't get terribly suspicious. The sleep spell was in the same family as what had been used on her and Ron during the triwizard tournament, similar yet a lot milder. Putting somebody at the bottom of a lake with only this and they would drown.

Hermione sat back down at the desk and took a sip of the water she had only just remembered to retrieve. The officer gave her an acknowledging smile before going back to his paper work. Hermione took out her wand carefully, slowly and cast the charm. It hit the officer and he opened his mouth in a jaw cracking yawn. The officer put his head on the table softly and Hermione waited a few minutes before she approached the man. She gently nudged him but he didn't move. She checked both his breathing and pulse and was relieved to find them steady. The spell had worked and the man was asleep, it would be 30 minutes or so before she would have to recast but hopefully she would have found something by then.

Hermione crept to the nearest desk and began to carefully rifle through the papers, putting everything back as she had found them. The officer snorted and she jumped, her heart hammering in her chest. She stilled herself but the officer just shifted in his sleep, she turned back to her desk and the officer began to snore like Ron after a feast. She jumped again but began to move again when she determined that that would be it; that the man was still asleep.

Hermione entered the sheriff's office and found the files to do with the case, everything that Dean had said they had seen in two cardboard boxes. Hermione shuffled through them but there wasn't anything extra. Hermione searched the Sheriff's office until she came to a locked drawer of a filing cabinet. Hermione opened it quickly and was greeted with the jackpot.

Missing teenagers over the last couple of weeks, about six in total and not included in the murder file. It was a massive missing piece in the puzzle and Hermione cursed the police for hiding something like this. She completely understood Dean's dislike of officers of the law; especially when they pulled these kinds of tactics, and with the people that were meant to be helping them. It reminded her of Dumbledore's machinations and she almost crumpled the paper in her ire.

Hermione took the case files from the drawer and made her way to the photocopier. Sam had shown her how to use one at the library, her instructions being to get copies of anything hidden. She wasn't confident but hoped she managed. To be honest technology made her uncomfortable; it was something she didn't know, hadn't had reason to learn about. Sam had been teaching her how to use computers and other technology but it was still intimidating; not that she hadn't been a keen student, wanting to know everything with a determination that she leant to all of her studies.

There were a few issues but she managed to copy everything in the files; she hid them in the back pack she had brought with her, leaving them until she was back with Dean and Sam before she went through them. She sat back down where she had been and waited for the officer to wake up. It took a couple of minutes and the officer sat up with a grunt, a little line of drool hanging from his mouth. He looked around in confusion and she smiled uncertainly at him; waiting to see whether she would need to follow through with that confounding charm.

'Must have dozed off, sorry.' Hermione shrugged and pointed at her watch.

'It wasn't long, I don't mind.' The officer nodded and scrubbed at his face before getting up to get himself some coffee. Hermione sighed softly in relief before sitting back, trying to make herself comfortable to wait for her brothers to be finished.

It took hours before the brother's returned, Hermione had fallen asleep on the couch in the break room when they came to get her. All three drove to the motel quite and subdued. The bloody body of the young teenager was the stuff of nightmares. It had been incredibly disturbing, made more so by that fact that they still had no idea of what was tearing these kids up. All three fell into bed as soon as they got back to the motel, exhaustion driving any other thought from their heads.

***HYUFV**

Hermione was sitting at the little table provided in the motel room. Sam and Dean were sprawled on their respective beds looking over the new files. There were six teenagers missing; including three girls. It was making the theory of a succubus even more unstable. They hadn't completely dismissed the idea but were now back to square one; looking for what might have done this. The fact that the missing one's hadn't shown up was a worrying factor because it might have meant that they were still alive, that the things; whatever it was, was keeping them holed up somewhere; like the Windego the boys had faced last year.

Hermione was busy modifying a water pistol she had brought from one of the local stores into an unending supply of holy water. She had carved some crossed into the plastic and made it unbreakable at Deans insistence, because apparently water guns broke too easily, definitely speaking from experience.

'Do you think the thing just completely ate them, and just didn't finish off the rest of the ones that they found?' Hermione twisted her wand in a complex pattern as she asked the question.

'Don't know, could have done, or it just hid the bodies better, or its keeping them for later, or they're still alive. There's any number of possibilities; none of them good.' Sam nodded at Dean's assessment.

'And the murder tonight was the same as the other ones found?'

'Yeah, looked just like the crime scene photos, only you know more vibrant.' Sam frowned at Dean in admonishment and got an unrepentant look back.

Hermione gave her wand a flick and the gun exploded; spraying water everywhere. Dean, Sam and Hermione sat in shock as water dripped from everything.

'What the hell?' Dean gave Hermione an incredulous look and she could only shrug.

'Oops?'

'Oops? Oops?'

'Apparently I did it wrong?'

'Ya think?' Sam scrambled to his bad to check on his laptop, while Dean tried to rescue the crime files. Hermione put the plastic gun down and moved to help dry everything. A few quick spells and the beds, files, roof and Dean were dry. Sam had his hands full of the more important bags, and he threw them on the bed. Hermione gently removed the electronics and handed them to Dean to wipe dry while she continued to dry everything she could. The carpet had turned a dirty mud color and squelched underfoot. The water had been clean but the room being as it was meant everything was filthy and smelled a bit like wet dog regardless of how dry it was. It took awhile, accompanied by smart alec comments from both Dean and Sam, until everything was dried.

'So, care to explain.' Neither brother had been paying much attention to their sisters fiddling before the water shock.

'I was trying to make a never ending supply of holy water for the water gun.' Dean looked around the water stained room before leveling her with an admonishing look.

'Was that our holy water? Add 'young lady' to that and he would've sounded exactly like her mother.

'No I was trying to make the gun holy and just tap into a water source.'

'What water source were you trying to tap into?' Hermione mumbled something that had both brothers straining to hear it.

'Say again.'

'I was tapping into the ocean.' Sam gave her a shocked look and she shrugged.

'Why not just use the tap.' He said pointing towards the bathroom.

'I wanted to have a bit of extra oomph; you know holy water combined with salt water.' She looked at the gun a bit forlornly wondering why all her experiments had a propensity for exploding.

'I'm not sure if the water is holy but I am definitely going to need to use a new gun.' The plastic gun looked fine but it was still connected; and she wasn't one hundred percent cure how to disconnect it.

'Also try outside next time.' Sam suggested drily.

'How bout you try tapping into a known holy water source; something with a little less pressure. Maybe set a barrel of holy water up at Bobby's; connect it to the gun and have Bobby replenish it.'

'Do you think he'd mind?'

'I think if you gave Bobby his very own water gun, I think he'd be happy to help out.' Hermione smiled and it glowed; disappointment in the slight setback forgotten as her brain raced forward with the possibilities. Sam had his very own look of impending research.

'Why salt water?'

'huh? Oh, because of the salt.'

'I don't know if that would work.'

'Why not?' Hermione got a worried frown line in the middle of her brow as she thought on her mother.

'Well the lore for salt is that the demon is stopped by it because he has to stop and count all the grains; I'm not sure if it would work in a melted form.' Dean was looking at his brother in mock disappointment.

'You are such a nerd.'

'Hey!' Hermione and Sam echoed each other, stopped and shared a shy smile. Dean rolled his eyes, and Sam patted Hermione consolingly on the shoulder.

'I don't know, If the salt dries then it leaves salt particles which I guess any critter would have a lot of trouble counting, and I don't see why salt wouldn't work straight off to hurt the sucker.'

'Well anyway; we'll have to stop by at Bobby's after we get all this sorted.'

'Sounds like a plan, now how bout you use that little stick of yours to finish cleaning up the mess you've made; it's beginning to stink in here.' Hermione nodded at Sam with a bit of a pout before going about cleaning the room; paying close attention to the carpet.

***SDJSNDJN(((***

They were all just about to go out to try and hunt whatever was eating these kids when Hermione received a call from Ray; the young man she had met the day before. Her brothers agreed that she would go and meet the boy to see what he wanted to talk about while they went out and tried to find traces off the creature by visiting the houses of the missing children. It was getting late in the afternoon but there really wasn't any reason to wait.

Hermione was given the sawn off shotgun; filled with rock salt shells with a couple of shotgun shells stuffed into her pockets, with one placed inside the inseam of her jumper, sewn in with only a couple of stitches for removal in a hurry. The shotgun was put into her backpack as there was no where she could store it in her clothes and still walk comfortably

She met Ray at the café they had first met at and Ray quickly convinced her to take a walk away from the crowd and staring, pitying looks he kept receiving.

'Why did you want to meet Ray?'

'I just wanted to find out what you're found out, tell me what's going on?'

Hermione debated for a couple of minutes before giving in, it wasn't like she was going to get into trouble for it.

'My brother thinks it has to do with the kids that have gone missing, he thinks they are connected, but the local cops didn't even mention it, much.' She made sure to tack on the last bit, wasn't quite ready to share breaking into the police files.

Ray looked thoughtful as she named the missing people, of course he knew who they were but he couldn't really tell her of any connections between them. Not that there had to be for them to look like a tasty meal.

There wasn't much else to share, Hermione let Ray talk about Ellie, about how in love he was with her. He was able to talk to her because she was a stranger, didn't look at him with pity like the rest of his friends continued to do.

They sat together on a park bench, under a lamp post until the sun went down. Hermione looked around warily, wanting to get back to the safety of her brothers. She convinced Ray to go straight home, he didn't argue and she was happy to see him walk off.

It took a couple of minutes while she was making her way out of the park when she heard the scream of a man behind her; back the way Ray had disappeared to. Hermione swung her pack off her shoulder and reached in quickly to pull out the shotgun and then took off running towards the screams.

They cut off suddenly and Hermione sped up as fast as she could, racing towards whatever was eating Ray. Hermione sped into the woods just off the park into a clearing.

Ray was held up against a tree by a young woman, she was smaller than him; dainty, but she was able to pin him to the tree without effort. The woman was kissing him violently but Ray was struggling enough to let Hermione know that he was not a willing participant.

Hermione raised the shotgun and fired the salt round into the back of the woman. She released Ray who was quick to scramble away and turned to face Hermione. The thing screamed an unearthly hideous scream at her and Hermione couldn't but flinch at the evilness of the thing. Hermione shot the thing again and it flinched away. Ray had made his way to her and she yelled at him to run. Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out one of her bombs; it was an exploding one but she didn't have time to get a circle one out.

She threw the bomb and it exploded showering the demon with salt and it screamed a more human sound, not that hissing hell bent thing that was still freaking her out. Hermione ran after Ray pawing at her jacket trying to get the live shell from her jacket. She pulled it out and managed to load the gun. They ran fast until Ray stopped looking behind him. Hermione stopped with him gasping for breath but just as ready to convince him to keep moving.

Hermione used the point me spell. They were in the middle of the woods, and she knew their motel was close by but was otherwise lost. They had run off the path and she wasn't sure how to get back to it, was definitely sure she wasn't going back to find it again.

The thing came out of the woods, looking for all the world like the young woman she had once been. Hermione grabbed Ray's hand and ran, pulling him along for the first couple of steps before he caught up with her and ran beside her. He didn't overtake her and for that she was grateful, she really didn't want to be left behind.

They ran through the twilight dark woods, tripping over branches and flinching when branches struck them in the face.

Ray started to slow but she pulled him along, urged him on. He tripped over a log she had just gone over and he pulled her back with him. They fell together into a pile and there was only their combined panting breath in the stillness of the woods. She listened but she couldn't hear the thing coming for them. Ray must have heard it too because he managed a small grimace of a smile; all hope and prayer.

'I think we lost her.' Hermione scrambled to her feet and pulled him with her, because she would not have just given up like that, not so easily.

'Come on Ray, come on we have to move.' She started moving off but Ray was dragging his feet, now that the threat wasn't immediate he was slowing down again. Hermione knew better, just because the threat was hidden didn't mean it was gone.

'Wait, let's think about this. Let's go back, get the police; get to safety.' Ray pulled her to a stop and she struggled out of his grip.

'We are going to help, okay, we're going to get help. My brother's they know what to do, alright. If we keep going through here we'll get to them. Trust me on this Ray we do not want to go back.'

'We need to go to the police. Jen's gone nuts, she killed Ellie; she confessed it. We need to go to the police and have her locked up.' Hermione really did not have time to explain the whole possession thing so she just nodded at the boy.

'I agree, my brother he's FBI remember. We have to get to him; he'll be able to arrest her. Trust me Ray.' She gave him her best beseeching look, coupled with tear filled eyes, trying to make herself look as helpless as possible regardless of the shotgun she was still holding and he nodded down at her.

'Great, great, then come on we have to be quick.' She took off jogging and was tackled from the side by a dark blur, and her gun went flying. Hermione and the thing that was once Jen rolled on the ground and landed with the thing sitting atop her, holding her hands down. The thing brought its face close to Hermione's and she was infiltrated with its putrid breath that smelled of rotting meat. Hermione cried out as the thing squeezed her wrists until the bones ground together.

Ray hit the back of its head with a fallen tree limb. It turned its head slowly to look at the startled boy and hissed at him. Hermione struggled but was held strong, she tried hooking her leg behind the thing and switching position, but it simply pulled her up and smashed her down a couple of times; shook her. Her head hit the ground again and again and she was dazed.

Ray tried to tackle the thing, came in from the side but it was fast. It leapt off Hermione and caught Ray around the middle and flung him out into the air. He struck a tree and crumpled at its base, unconscious. Hermione had gotten to her hands and knees and was crawling away towards her gun when the thing grabbed her hair and lifted her into a standing position.

She cried out at the pain in her head, the dizziness. The world was swimming and still she tried to fight. She elbowed back and tried kicking but the thing kept its grip and dodged her blows. It pushed her into a tree and she managed to tilt her head to the side before she was forcefully held against the harsh bark.

The thing held her fast to the tree, her back to Jen. It pushed its body up against hers and Hermione could feel its breasts against her back. Its' leg came up around her and clung itself onto the tree, grinding its core against her. It was standing on one leg but its' hold was as solid as ever.

It settled its face into her neck and she could feel it inhale. It moaned and ground itself into her. Hermione shuddered in revulsion and could feel the tears streaming unchecked down her face.

'You smell good enough to eat.' It licked her neck and Hermione whimpered, she clamped her teeth onto her lips and tried to keep it all in.

'It's a pity though, if you were a man I could make it feel so good, but it just doesn't work on you girls. It's such a shame when you smell so good. I think I'll just have to satisfy myself with just the taste of your flesh, even if I can't have your lust.' The thing ground down harshly and Hermione's cheek scraped against the bark. The thing sniffed at her bleeding cheek and groaned.

Hermione smashed her head back but the thing's face wasn't in reach anymore. The thing laughed and brought her head back away from the tree before slamming it back into the hard wood. Hermione's nose snapped in a gush of blood and she screamed as the thing laughed in delight.

Hermione's hand was released and she immediately grabbed for her wand in her pocket. She had a hand around it when the thing grabbed her hand back, and snatched the wood out of her hand. The thing stopped grinding and smelling and just held her. Hermione tried to turn her head to see what was happening but her head was held fast.

'You little witch.' The thing sounded amazed and intrigued and it was a very worrying development. It turned her and pushed her back into the tree. It searched her eyes for some sign, Hermione looked at the thing defiantly even as she pulled her magic into her; preparing herself to do something, anything. The thing slapped her across the face and her concentration broke, her power dissipated with it.

'Enough of that little witch. Where are you from?'

'England.' The thing smiled; a look of total satisfaction, of great anticipation.

'Europe, oh you brilliant little thing. Tell me pet, do you know of the Veelas.' Hermione nodded slowly completely unsure where it was going with this.

'Do you know any half breeds; half Veelas?' Hermione nodded again and the thing kissed her quickly, harshly. It shifted her nose and Hermione made a pained cry.

'You pretty, pretty darling. You tell me where I can find one of these half breeds, and I'll let your little boyfriend go.' The thing tilted her head so she could get a good look at Ray's crumpled form. The boy was still down and she prayed that he was still alive.

'Why do you want one?' Hermione tried to stall, enough time to think of a plan. The thing was practically salivating at the idea of a Veela half-breed; someone like Fleur or her little sister Gabriel. Hermione needed to think on how she could use it.

'I feed off lust, darling. A Veela is a fierce thing, but a half-breed is just the sweetest thing you could ever have.' The thing was going off in her own little world; seeing things that Hermione hoped she would never see.

'And you'll let us go if I tell you where you can find one?' The thing laughed again.

'No sweet pea, I'll let him go if you tell me. You I'll take with me, you find me one and I'll release you.' Hermione figured that she would be the things first feast if she ever found her someone like Fleur. Hermione spat into the things face.

'I won't be taking no for an answer here sweet pea. I've had all of one half-breed Veela in my entire existence. I have been around for a very long time, and I have only ever had the pleasure of one. She was so perfect. The things practically call men to them, it was like an all you could eat buffet. But the girl was like a continuous pulsing beacon of lust; she oozed it, I could simply stand near her and I was full. I gorged myself on her for years before she killed herself, and then I feasted on her flesh and I was so full I could barely move. It was glorious and I will not let you steal that from me. You tell me or I will rip the information out of your flesh, one strip at a time.' The thing had become vicious and ugly and Hermione cringed away from it. The things teeth began to grow and sharpen and its hands grew claws; thin and ugly and birdlike.

'Fuck you lady.' Ray groaned behind them drawing Hermione's worried gaze and the thing paused, a maniacal grin filled with flashing teeth came to its face. It smacked Hermione's head back into the tree harshly and let her drop to the ground, unable to get up. It stalked its way to Ray's prone figure and Hermione could only watch. She tried to rise and had to fight back the vomit that moving caused. One too many smacks to the head and she was sure that she had a concussion.

'Or perhaps I'll just take it out on Ray here. I mean his girlfriend was my best friend; it's only fair that I punish him for cheating on her with you; even if she is dead.' Hermione managed to get onto her hands and knees and had to wait for the world to stop spinning before she used the tree to raise herself to her feet. She held onto the tree for dear life. She looked around desperately for her wand, tried to call something up to bring it back to her but her head was too fuzzy.

Hermione stumbled towards them, she had to do something. Hermione tripped and fell, she managed to break her fall with her hands and she almost spilled her guts onto the forest floor. She managed to make her to her fallen gun. Hermione stumbled up behind it the thing was distracted with Ray, and pointed the sawn off shot gun at the back of the things pretty blond head.

It had leaned over Ray and was about to start feasting on him when Hermione pulled the trigger and the things head exploded in a shower of blood that splattered the tree, Ray and Hermione. The thing collapsed like its strings had been but and Hermione swayed as she looked down at it. Ray took the time to come to and he scrambled away from the bloody body. He stood up beside her and they both looked down at the body.

'You killed her.' Hermione looked at him with cold eyes but he wasn't looking at her. He kicked the corpse and made it flop disgustingly and a spurt of blood oozed out of the hole in its head. Hermione was breathing heavily and was just about ready to throw up. Hermione grabbed Ray and pulled him away from the body. She placed her wand in her palm and whispered the point me spell. She put her shoulder under Rays arm and she followed the spell's direction. Ray took the gun from her and she let him. They stumbled along together in an awkward silence.

They emerged from the woods and entered the car park of the motel. Hermione walked to the room that her and her brothers were staying in. She leant against the door and knocked, her fist left a bloody print. Nobody came to the door; she pointed her wand at the lock and unlocked it. She opened the door and practically fell into the room. Ray followed her but she ignored him. She moved to the phone beside the table and dialed Dean's number.

Dean answered on the first ring.

'Dean, can you come back to the motel room.' Her voice was nasal and even the thought of her broken nose made it ache and throb. Dean was yelling into the phone but she didn't have any words to reassure him so she hung up.

Hermione sat down on the bed and just looked at her blood covered hands. She wanted to cry but nothing was coming to her. She had just killed that woman, even when she knew how to save her. She could have done an exorcism and then the woman would still be alive and the demon would be gone. But Hermione hadn't done that, she had killed her, killed her violently. The tears came silently and she let them fall onto her hands, where they streaked the blood. Her hands were shaking and she couldn't look at Ray; didn't want to see his accusing eyes.

Ray knelt beside her and cupped her face in his.

'Don't worry sweat pea she was already dead.' Hermione looked at the thing in horror, taken over Ray. Hermione looked at the doorway that should have been safe with salt lines. The doorway was empty; it hadn't been resalted after the water and the consequent cleaning. The thing brought its face down to hers and pressed its lips to hers. It bit her lip and Hermione gasped and the thing thrust its tongue into her mouth and it tasted of rotting meat. It made Hermione gag.

'Just tell me love and everything is going to be fine.' Hermione shook her head and the thing smiled down at her. Hermione smashed her forehead into Rays face and he fell off the bed. Hermione lunged for the table that still held the plastic gun and she pulled the trigger and the it exploded with salt water spraying everywhere. The thing screamed and smoked and Hermione fell to the floor beside the bed. She reached under the bed and got her hand on one of the circle bombs. She threw it at the things legs and it exploded into a circle around the things legs. Hermione quickly grabbed her wand and dried the floor and ceiling with some quick spells, making sure the salt wouldn't wash away.

The thing screamed and howled in demonic rage, it threw a fantastic tantrum inside the circle but wasn't going anywhere. Hermione lay back on the ground and tried to breath ready to wait on her brothers to return to help her deal with this thing. She ignored its angry screams and closed her eyes in exhaustion.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or Harry Potter.**

**A/N: Sorry this took a while; busy, busy end of financial year. Anyway hope you all enjoy it and thanks so much for all the great reviews. **

**Chapter 14**

Hermione's eyes fluttered open as the malevolence in the room grew to breath stealing proportions.

"Hermione." The thing that was once Ray called in a sing-song voice that set her teeth on edge. She rolled her head in its direction to look at it from where she was laying. It was standing leaning its forehead up against the invisible wall of the salt circle.

"Hermione open the circle and I won't go ripping your guts out." It was oozing evil like a scent and she had to concentrate on taking deep breaths through her mouth; her nose being out of action. She couldn't quite bring herself to believe its promise of clemency.

"Bitch, open the fucking circle." Its' features hardened and it spat the words out in fury as it banged its' closed fists against its' invisible prison. Hermione closed her eyes again as her head picked up its throbbing. She scrambled for her phone that had fallen somewhere beside her. She had to crack her eyes open again to find it and that brought a groan to her lips. She thumbed the buttons for Sam's phone and held it to her ear; rolling onto her side so she could simply lay it on the ground and rest her ear against the phone.

Three rings and Sam was on the line being loud. Hermione winced and shhh'd him; she had the vague impression that she was slurring but couldn't really find the energy to care.

"Sam, I need you to come back to the motel room now." Sam said something but she missed it. The thing gave a screeching yell of rage and she yelled at it to shut up, without looking at it. She didn't want to see Ray's changed into that evil filled visage that the girl; Jen, had taken on. She didn't want to see her failure standing there and cussing her out. Hermione felt the tears; wet and hot; streaming down her cheeks and her breath hitched.

"Sammy, I screwed up, now Ray's gone and I need you here. Please Sammy come back; I'm scared." Hermione sniffled then moaned in pain as her nose went from throbbing to needle sharp pain.

"Sammy come quickly." She heard Sam screaming on the other end of the phone but she didn't have anything else to say. She shut the phone off and slowly sat herself up.

Hermione faced the demon that was silent now; just watching her. She shivered not feeling well enough to hide the fear the thing produced in her.

"My brothers are on their way and I'm not letting you out so stop asking." She refrained from sticking her tongue out at the thing; afraid that it would get out somehow and bite it off.

"Then what are they going to do; send me back to the pit. You'd let them do that to me would you?" Hermione nodded her head slowly, being careful to make sure it didn't fall off.

"Tell you what sweet pea, that's fine by me. You send me back and I'll just go and visit your daddy." Hermione looked at the thing in alarm and crawled around the bed. She sat herself at its edge and leant her back against it; close but not touching the circle.

"What'd you say about my dad?" Hermione was looking at the thing in the circle in horror.

"As soon as I get back I'm gonna go find your daddy and strip his soul some; let me tell you that it'll feel like I'm skinning him alive." Hermione was shaking in anger. The yellow eyed demon had told her their father was in hell, but she hadn't believed him. Demon's lied and she couldn't comprehend that any higher power would let her daddy rot in hell; not after everything he had done, not after everybody he had saved.

"That's right princess; let me out of the fucking circle or I'll rip your daddy apart. He's been gone a month baby; that's ten years in hell. Ten years on the torture rack because Lucifer knows Azazael would not have gone easy on the old bastard; not after everything your daddy put him through."

"How do you know who I am?" She was pretty sure the thing hadn't had a clue about her when it had been talking to her in the woods, unless she had missed something. She wished that her head would stop hurting and clear itself; she really didn't need to be fuzzy on any of this.

"Jen didn't know who you were, didn't know your name. Ray here does. There isn't a demon out there that doesn't know the name Winchester; John, Dean, Sam and now the little bitch Winchester. Gotta tell you; daddy must have loved you to have kept you hidden so well. Looks like you've gone and fucked up all his hard work. What kind of daughter does that make you?" Hermione brought a hand to her mouth to muffle her sobs.

"Come on Sweet pea don't cry; it's in your nature. You're a witch; everybody knows they're evil. Hell princess give it a couple of years and you'll be down in the pit with all your other soulless brethren. Maybe you'll get a turn to cut on daddy some; or who knows maybe daddy'll be that twisted when you get there that he'll go and cut on you. It'll be a hell of a family reunion." Hermione covered her ears, trying to block out the harsh cruel words of the thing that was once Ray.

***NDJDJ***

Sam flung the door of the impala open before Dean had even stopped the car. He ran for the motel room at full speed, gun out, with Dean coming up behind him. Sam didn't stop for the door just flung himself bodily into the wood; smashing it open. He pointed his gun at the boy standing in the centre of the room that had turned to face him when he had barged in. He took notice of the salt circle and edged around the room until he spotted Hermione.

He charged towards her; leaving the demon to Dean while he saw to his baby sister. Her call had been heart wrenching and panic inducing and he had screamed at Dean to get them to the motel right the fuck now when she had hung up. She was sitting at the edge of the bed, holding her knees to her chest, huddled in on herself. He got to her and she raised her bruised blood covered face to meet him. Sam growled low in his throat, already thinking on punishment for the thing that had done this to her.

Her nose was broken and she had bled down her front until her shirt was soaked in blood. Sam reached trembling hands out to her and she flung herself into his embrace; crying like there was no tomorrow.

He held her to his chest and turned a fierce blood curdling glare on the demon trapped in the circle. Dean had his gun held on it but was watching Sam and Hermione with worry. Sam nodded to him, letting him know that he had Hermione, and that he should tear that demon sonovabitch a new one.

"Hey, Hey it's alright we're here now, you're alright." Hermione clung to him tighter for a couple of seconds before she made herself pull away; she wanted this finished. She wasn't evil, she wasn't going to hell when she died, and she would tear the world apart to get her father out of hell. She had been telling herself those basic facts of life for the last few minutes while the thing continued to spit cruelty that she had tried her best to ignore.

"That's the thing that's been killing all the teenagers; it's like a succubus." Hermione pointed an accusing finger at what was once Ray; glaring at it for all she was worth; they would destroy this thing, then she would figure out a way to get her father out of hell, and then a way to trap demons, or flat out kill them.

"Well then I think this here calls for a little exorcism." Dean smiled viciously at the demon but the thing only had eyes for Hermione.

Sam turned Hermione to him and winced at her crooked nose.

"First things first, we need to get your nose set; we leave it any longer and it'll have to be broken again." Hermione gave a sharp nod then swayed slightly at the sudden movement. Sam looked at her worriedly and checked her pupils.

"You've got a concussion."

"I know. Fix my nose." Sam nodded and took a towel from the bed and made her blow out forcefully into the towel. She looked away quickly from the newly bloody towel as her stomach rolled. He scrunched up the clean end and Hermione bit down on it hard. She closed her eyes as Sam held her nose between his hands and counted down. On three he pulled her nose down until it was straightened. Hermione screamed into the towel and sat down hurriedly on the bed. Hermione was dizzy and when Sam said he hadn't gotten it completely straight she waved him off; she'd bloody well get magic to fix it.

Dean picked up their dad's journal and the holy water while Sam held the gun to the demon. Hermione remained silent as she sat on the bed; staring at the demon, wanting desperately to stop them from performing the exorcism if this thing was going to find their dad but knowing there really wasn't any other option.

Dean started chanting and Hermione bit her lip as the thing thrashed within the salt circle. It turned Jet black eyes to her and the fury on its face was hideous.

"When I get out; you'll be the first one I come for. You're English and a witch; I'll go to Hogwarts and gut the children I find until I come to one you actually care about. Sweet pea when I get out you are going to beg me to take you to hell." Hermione stood up and grabbed the holy water from Dean even as he continued chanting. She squirted the water and the thing sizzled.

"You don't know who you're messing with. You touch anyone I love and I'll destroy you, hell will seem like the tropics when I'm done with you. You want a fight; I'll give you a fucking war." She spat straight into the things eyes and it howled with its head back. Dean finished the chant and black smoke streamed up out of Ray and crashed into the ceiling. Hermione looked at the clear ceiling and shook; it was on its way to hurt her daddy.

Ray collapsed unconscious onto the floor at her feet; salt useless against his demon free body. She bent and cradled his head in her lap; checking his pulse. It was strong and she let out a relieved breath; thank god for small favors.

***THHTH***

They arrived at Bobby's the next night; after having slept and seen Ray back home, shaken and terrified but alive. Hermione had been mostly silent throughout the trip apart from insisting they get to Bobby's she had given her brothers a brief overview of what had happened with the demon; enough to get them off her case but without elaborating.

Bobby was standing on his front step to greet them when they pulled in to his yard. Hermione greeted Bobby warmly, giving him a hug and kiss to the cheek before passing him by on her way inside. The three men followed after her after getting the preliminary greetings out of the way.

They went to move past the living room but stopped at the sight of Hermione already sitting in the middle of the room; having already pulled several books around her and settling in to reading them.

Sam and Dean shared a worried look before following her into the room. Sam knelt down beside her and coughed when she didn't acknowledge him.

"Hermione what are you doing?" Sam kept his voice quite so as not to spook her.

"Research." Hermione muttered distractedly; she pulled her wand from her pocket and waved it without taking her eyes from her reading. A quill, ink and parchment appeared beside her and she immediately picked the items up and started to make notes; her speed was hampered with the cumbersome use of the archaic instruments and all three men looked slightly wary at the casual use of magic and befuddlement at the writing utensils.

"What are you researching?" Dean asked while Sam went to his bag and retrieved a proper pen and pad. He quickly took her quill from her which had her looking up in confusion but was quickly forgiven when he replaced it with the easier to use instruments.

"Demons." Hermione voice was distant as her hand raced over the paper making small concise notes in her perfect handwriting.

"Of course." Dean gave her a long look before he shrugged and went to the kitchen, Bobby trailed after him wanting to know what the hell was going on. Sam hovered for a couple more moments before following; leaving Hermione furiously studying.

***ghgh***

"What is going on?" Bobby checked on the spaghetti he was making for dinner while quizzing the boys.

"There was a demon and Hermione got a bit too close. I think she's feeling vulnerable, wants to find out everything she can on demons I guess." Sam said as he sat himself down at the wooden table.

"How close is too close?"

"She was alone with it for a while, when we got there she was huddled down on the floor crying."

"So pretty fucking close." Dean hissed, angry that they hadn't been able to protect her from it, and now it seemed to be eating her up inside; it was enough to make her remember what this life was really like; it was enough to lose her.

Bobby was standing facing away from the boys; gripping the kitchen bench with knuckles quickly turning white.

"What did it say?"

"Said something about it coming after her when it got out of hell; which made Hermione mad and she gave one hell of a threat back." Sam smiled vindictively.

Bobby turned back to the boys and sat himself down beside them.

"What did it say to have her crying her eyes out?" The brothers looked at each other in worry then back to Bobby. Dean shrugged and Bobby sighed, wiping a hand down his face.

He stood up and motioned to the boys to wait where they were; told them in no uncertain terms that they were not to disturb them. Bobby went back into the room to see to Hermione.

He crouched by the absorbed girl and gently put a calloused hand on the book, hiding the writing. Hermione stopped and just looked at it before slowly lifting her eyes to him. They held a tightly controlled rage that he recognized from looking in the mirror every morning. Bobby felt saddened and angry that it had been put there.

"What did the demon say to you?" Hermione glared at him and tried to take her book back, but he pulled it away with a sharp tug.

"It said dad was in hell, and it was going to go and torture him with my love." Bobby sighed; they had all suspected it but the reality was heart breaking.

"Demon's lie." Hermione snorted.

"Of course they lie, but not about this, not when the truth is so much crueler. He's in hell and we haven't done anything to get him out, haven't even tried. So I am doing research because that is what I do, I get a problem and I research it until I find an answer and then there's no more problem. So if you would excuse me." Hermione snatched her book back and buried her head back to it.

Bobby sighed once and stood up his knees cracking painfully.

"Dinner's in 15 minutes." Bobby went back into the kitchen to see Dean and Sam rush to sit back in their seats; haunted looks all round.

"Guess you boys heard that?" Sam nodded while Dean just looked away. Jesus if they all weren't messed up already now they had this to contend with.

"Your daddy's tough." Dean made a derisive pained sound and stood up in a sudden movement that had his chair crashing back.

"Well then I guess he'll be fucking fine." Dean paced frantically like he couldn't get enough air.

"Dean." Sam stood and reached to his brother but Dean flinched back.

"No, Dad's in hell and it's my fault." Dean stumbled away and out of the kitchen, it was followed shortly by the slamming of the front door then the growl of the impala's engine.

Hermione came into the kitchen with a questioning look. Sam returned it with one of helpless horror and she sent one back of clear determination. She went to him and grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards the living room.

"Come on Sam, Dean will be back, but for now there are plenty of books that need reading." She sat him down and handed him a heavy tome. Bobby followed them and began to sort the books into what might be more useful.

"Boy better be home in 15 minutes or his dinner'll get cold." Hermione looked at Bobby softly which had him shuffling awkwardly like a fourth grader.

To be continued …


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Supernatural.**

**A/N: I'm back, finally. I hope you enjoy this one, sorry for the wait.**

**Chapter 15**

Severus gave a yelp of surprise and dropped the bowl he had been passing; it hit the table and mashed potato splattered Ginny who had been looking to receive it. He gripped his arm; trying to stop the burning that was emanating outwards from his mark.

The table which had been loud and filled with laughter was silenced at his outburst and everyone stared at him in dread.

"Alert Dumbledore." He left the room as the adults started to move and rushed to his room. He hurriedly threw his black robes on and located his hated mask from the bottom of the cupboard, where he had thrown it in a fit of pique days ago.

His breath came faster as dread rose within him. He swallowed around the lump in his throat and put a hand to his stomach to settle it.

No matter how often he was called, the sick feeling never went away. He started to go through his breathing exercises, trying to clear his mind in preparation. He sent a quick prayer to a god he had long tried to forget; let this not be the end, let this not be the day Voldemort looked at him and saw him for the traitor he was.

Severus straightened his shoulders and pulled his perfected sneer down around him and released his hair from where he had tied it up. He closed his mental shields as tight as he could and placed his Death Eater mask into the pocket of his Death Eater robes.

He was a Death Eater; Voldemort was his master, and he was about to join his brothers and sisters in a night of mayhem and terror. He resisted the involuntary shudder and forced a cruel smirk onto his face.

He turned to the door and sighed; he was too old for this shit.

He opened the door and was greeted with a hall full of worried people. He met Dumbledore's eyes and felt the first stirrings of hatred that would only grow as the night progressed.

"If it's a raid, I shall let you know in the usual manner." He nodded to the man who held his leash and turned to wade through the rest of the order.

"What is the usual manner?" This from Potter and he sneered automatically. A few of the order took a step backwards, away from him.

"Patronous." He answered shortly.

Potter squared his shoulders in defiance and he upped his glare in direct correlation.

"We've got a better way." Potter looked around and the students began to search their pockets. The Weasley twins came up with the coins from the night before and handed them to Potter.

"Sirius, wand." The brat held his hand out expectantly and after a confused look around the mutt handed it over.

Potter tapped the wand on both coins and muttered some latin, the coins glowed briefly and he handed over one coin.

"Okay just tap the coin with your wand and say the address if it is a raid, and we'll receive the message on this coin. It'll be quicker and there will be less chance of being caught." Severus eyed the boy warily, trying to ignore the warm, hard to swallow feeling of gratitude that was rising up at his actions. He nodded sharply and took the coin; he put his wand to it and said an address. He concentrated on the feel of the magic as the coin changed. He put away his wand and held the coin in his hand and said a different address, concentrating on that same feeling. The coin changed again, wandlessly and he noticed the look of awe on the faces of the children. He swallowed the bile rising and turned to leave again.

"Severus." Narcissa called and he turned to her, sneer coming to his face unevenly.

"What?" She pointed and his gaze followed her finger. He swallowed the nervous laughter that tried to choke him as he stared. He began to fumble the catch on his old Casio watch, trying to get it off. Narcissa stilled his shaking fingers with her own steady immaculate ones.

She gently removed the watched and placed it on the shelf above the fireplace. He would be flooing out to a separate location and then apparating from there so as not to give away the orders position. She took to smoothing out his robes, making him look presentable, an act he knew she had experience in. He submitted to her fussing as he avoided the curious, hostile stares of his fellow order members.

"What's wrong?" He barely flinched at young Miss Weasley's question, and kept silent.

"The Dark Lord punishes his followers for any muggle items they bring to the meetings." It was Draco who answered, the young man sounding tired and weary and much too old for his 16 years. He was watching his mother pat Severus down with a sort of sad nostalgia. No doubt the boy had seen his parent's complete the same ritual on many different occasions. He tried to ignore the memory of the last time he had forgotten to remove his muggle watch; the humiliating punishment he had received at random intervals throughout the night.

He stilled Narcissa's hands and gave her the best smile he could summon up under the circumstances. He ignored the rest of the order and threw a pinch of flu powder into the fire. It flared green and he stepped in and disappeared.

Spinner's end was decrepit as ever, dust and cobwebs everywhere. It took all of 30 seconds to fill himself up with the hatred and disgust he always felt when coming back to his families old hovel. He concentrated on the awe and gratitude he had had as a young man for the man who had made it possible for him to escape from it all, to rise above his station, to make something of himself.

His arm gave another harsh burst of heat that left him wincing. Severus took his mask from his pocket and placed it reverently over his features. It was time. He locked onto his mark's signature and apparated; let it lead him to his lord; wherever he may be.

He arrived and fell straight to one knee with head bent. He had been greeting his lord in the same manner for over 20 years. His knees protested a lot more now than they had at seventeen. He stayed silent as he waited for his lord to acknowledge him, not even sure where he had been brought.

"Severus." His lord's sibilant hiss washed over him and he turned his bent head in its direction.

"My lord." His own voice came out quite, as if a great relief had been lifted from his shoulders, just from being in his lord's presence.

"Rise, join your brothers and sisters." Severus bowed lower for a single moment before rising gracefully, ignoring the popping of his knees. He was surrounded by Death Eaters in all their glory.

Lucius Malfoy's drawing room looked darker and the worse for wear despite the number of people inhabiting it. It seemed the Dark Lord had taken over his second-in-commands home in his absence.

"Tell me Severus, what news of young Mr Malfoy and his traitorous bitch of a mother." His lord's voice was filled with rage. He had never been fond of being abandoned; the worst tortures were bestowed on deserters, always had been.

"They are being kept at the orders headquarters, under lock and key. They have been forbidden from leaving for fear of betrayal." The dark lord's dark red eyes narrowed, and he flicked his wand at Severus who didn't even flinch before he was thrown back, screaming and writhing on the floor.

The spell was lifted and Severus had to concentrate to breathe and not relieve himself before his fellow Death Eaters.

"And where is the order hiding?" The wand was flicked again and Severus screamed himself hoarse. Polite laughter accompanied his pain, interspersed with Bellatrix's high delighted giggles. The spell left him slowly and he felt it linger with sharp stabbing pain throughout his body that slowly tapered away.

"Please my lord, you know I cannot tell you." The wand flicked and Severus flinched horribly and moaned as his muscles protested. Bellatrix clapped in delight but the spell was not reapplied and he could have cried in relief, if that wouldn't have led to another round of Cruciatas.

"I am aware, and yet I still have some faith that you will turn around and surprise me, yet I am constantly disappointed. Tell me Severus what is the point of a spy if he will not give me the information that I want." The dark lord looked at him like a father disappointed in his unruly child and Severus choked on the small amount of blood that always accompanied these question sessions.

"I would my lord, I would, but it is protected and only Dumbledore can answer the question. Please my lord I have told you the area it is situated." It had been agreed by Dumbledore and the order to release that much, a necessity, even if it had almost cost Miss Granger more than any of them had been willing to pay.

"You did, and we almost caught one of your little rats; but that was Joseph's error in not capitalizing on such fortune. He has been appropriately punished so we don't need to go into that further. Lucius, come and pick Severus up, he is dirtying up your home." Severus looked around for the blonde, confused because the last he had checked the man was still in Azkaban. If the dark lord had broken the prisoners out already that did not bode well.

"Lucius!" The dark Lord screamed in anger at his directive not being followed immediately. The Death Eaters shuffled nervously. Bellatrix; never far away, stepped closer to her beloved lord.

"My Lord; Lucius rots in Azkaban still." The Dark Lord whipped his head to look at her and he searched her mind through her eyes from behind her mask. He looked around at his deatheaters trying to garner the truth of the statement.

"Then we shall have to remove him from where he rots. Nott, come up with a strategy." Nott bowed low to the ground in deference to his master, calmly ignoring what seemed to be his lord's lapse in sanity.

"Yes my lord."

"Very well, Crabbe get the man on his feet." He waved at Severus's prone figure absently, already moving on to more important issues. He lifted himself out of the throne like chair that he had been lounging in. Trust Lucius Malfoy to have such extravagance in his home.

"My followers we have suffered for the cause. We have been forced into hiding, labeled terrorists when we are truly revolutionists. You have all had to hide your true allegiance, No longer. The government had deemed themselves fit to acknowledge our existence again, and while our very names are whispered with terror there will be no denying us. We shall take the government. They are incompetent, over-confident and ripe for the plucking.

'We shall infiltrate it without violence; we shall create a public face for ourselves that will be palatable to the masses. They shall vote us in themselves, and then where will the wizarding world be?

'We already hold many of the seats in power; we simply need to convince the rest to join us.

'Which brings us to tonight's festivities." The pale faced, red eyed dark lord clapped his hands in enthusiasm and Severus felt his horror rising, it would isolate the order even more then it was at the moment, it would strand them and quell most of the fight before it was even started. It would turn the order into the enemy and there would be no recovery from that, the wizarding world wouldn't stand a chance.

"Jameson Shareece is standing in the way of his cousins political aspirations. Further more his mudblood whore of a wife has recently spawned the next generation of mudblood filth. It is but a small favor to help him out, a favor that I am more than willing to concede. Gentlemen have fun with the woman; Ladies if you would like the man then he is yours. I would also like somebody to break the brat's neck. I'd like to think we have all learnt our lesson on that front. " He held Bellatrix's hand in his own and smiled down on her upturned face that looked on with pure and utter devotion.

Voldemort sat himself back on his borrowed throne and let himself bask in his followers enthusiasm for the mission, for the cause. He had taken a while to regain himself these last few years, but he finally felt that he was better than he had been. The last battle between himself and Dumbledore had been invigorating, refreshing. It had made him realize how much he had to offer the world, how important the cause was; how horrible it would be to fail.

***ndsnd***

Severus put his hand into his pocket and grasped the coin as he stood in the dark street, with his brothers and sisters outside of their soon-to-be victim's home. He whispered the name and prayed that it would be enough even as they all started to move forward like dark wraiths; nightmares come to life.

***skkdkd***

The order had received the message on the coin and had immediately mobilized. It took but moments before they were all apparating from the front room straight to the fight.

Molly and Narcissa were all that were left in the house from the order; the rest had gone to fight and the two women were left to care for the children and prepare for any casualties that would result. They shared a moment of solidarity over a pot of tea in the kitchen as they waited for the news and the rest of the order to return.

All of the younger members of the house were together in the library, nervous, worried and trying to keep each others spirits up. Draco had joined them after an invitation from Harry and he had done well to ignore the twins' rather hostile looks.

"Have you made any further Wheezes?" Harry asked the twins in an effort to distract.

"We're working on some things; all hush hush still, but some definite gems. You looking to stock up for the new year?" The twins leaned forward like sharks scenting blood, a look renowned by salesman worldwide.

"We'll definitely want some things, but I have a job for you if you're both willing?" The twins nodded, calming down in relation to the serious nature of the discussion.

"Snape's a spy, but from what I have seen he doesn't have many resources to help him. I want you to help him out, anything that would get him information safely; hell if we could bug the deatheaters' hide out it would be fantastic." The twins looked confused at the mention of bugging but Harry waved them off for the moment.

"There are a lot of things in the muggle world that I think would give you some great ideas, that would be perfect for you to adapt. Most importantly, what I would like you to work on first is to identify the Death Eaters. We need to know what they look like so we can be aware of them. We need photos of all the current deatheaters, If you can make a secret camera then we can see about getting Snape to get us some photos."

"We'll definitely work on that, but if you want to know what they look like, they're purebloods and we are in a pureblood house. If you know their names, good chance they have records, along with photos in some of the books in here." Fred gestured to the books around them and Harry followed his gesture.

"Which books?" The library was massive and he didn't particularly want to go through them all, who knows what he would catch.

Draco snorted in derision even as he made his way to the stacks.

" Can either of you two even read without Granger?" He began to look for familiar titles, anything that he had in his own library at the manor.

"Hey. I'll have you know we don't read even when Hermione is here." Ron shared a smirk with Harry as they all watched Draco search.

"What are you looking for?" Draco looked back at the twins with a look of pure disdain. That he had to associate with these asinine creatures was truly a torture that he wasn't sure he had earned.

"A lot of the pureblood families have a lot of the same literature, the blacks were once a great family I know Sirius's mother kept her collection current before she died. "

"How do you know that?"

"We used to visit before she died, and my tutors taught some lessons in this library." Harry looked at the boy in shock that wasn't shared by the Weasley's.

"You've been here before?"

"Of course, I've been in most of the purebloods homes at one time or another." Draco answered without looking at the others, gathering a collection of books.

"Do you know a lot of the deatheaters?" At this Draco snapped his head around to stare at Harry, but the question hadn't been asked in anger just shrewd curiosity.

"Yes." Draco nodded slowly, warily before going back to the books.

"So you would be able to identify them?" Draco nodded again and passed some of the books off to Ginny who had gone to help him with his pile.

"Yes, Theo and I used to make a game out of how many tattoos we could spot." He joined the rest of the group around the table where they all lounged. Everyone grabbed a book and began to flick through, trying to find photos of familiar faces.

"You used to play spot the deatheater?"

"Well that was before Mulciber caught us at it and gave us both a right good scare on Death Eater politics." Draco laughed shortly at the memory before sobering at their horrified looks.

"We were seven, Mulciber put the fear into us, but he wouldn't have hurt us, my father would have killed him bloody." The horrified looks didn't go away so he bent back to his own book, marking pages with bits of paper when he found a candidate. The rest were doing the same for those they thought looked like likely candidates and Draco shuddered at the way they were dogearring the pages. In that moment he wished Granger was there so she could yell at the gross mistreatment.

***ngmgn***

The order arrived just as the door to the house was blown apart by one of the newer members; eager to please, eager to fight and terrify.

Three Deatheaters made it into the house before that route was cut off. Nymphadora and Kingsley rushed in the house after them; moved towards the screams already issuing from within.

Tonks felled one deatheater who hadn't yet made it past the corner with a crushing localized bombarda; directed at the hated white mask as he looked back at his pursuers. The deatheaters head snapped back and blood sprayed out from under the mask, leaked from the eye holes and seeped until it dripped from the bottom of the mask and he dropped to the floor. Kingsley rushed past the fallen deatheater and Tonks sent a stunner to make sure the man would stay down.

Kingsley rounded the corner shield already in place; it stopped the first purple bolts of light before breaking apart. Kingsley dove to the side, behind a couch, a clear picture of the room in his mind's eye.

The man of the house was on his knees; both deatheaters standing behind him. One Deatheater held him by the neck; wand trained on the doorway, on Kinglsey; the other had been shuffling towards the second door of the room; the one that led to the rest of the house.

Blasts of magic came from Tonks, hidden in the hall, using the hall's mirror to aim as she reached her wand, and her wand only around the door jam and fired at the deatheaters. The Deatheater closest to the door dove through it and Tonks lost sight of what looked to be a her, could hear her scrambling up the stairs. The other fired into the hall and Tonks' mirror cracked and shattered into a million pieces that rained down on her, cutting her hands and arms as she covered her head.

It was all Kingsley needed. He shuffled out past the couch and while the Deatheater was distracted he sent a high powered stunner that caught the man square between the eyes. The man dropped as if his strings had been cut and Kingsley rushed forward to secure the prisoner. Bindings in place he followed Tonks through the next door, both keeping low, wary and on guard; waiting for the last Deatheaters' attack.

The man of the house tried to rush up behind them and Kingsley turned to stop him, make him wait. He caught the desperate look in the man's eyes, registered the pleading for his wife, his child. Kingsley swallowed harshly; he fucking hated seeing kids hurt. He put a hand to the man's chest and pushed him backwards; urged him to stay where he was.

He never saw the dark mauve bolt of light. It hit him in the back, across the shoulder blade of his wand hand and he cried out in pain. He fell to one knee; supporting himself on the man that had distracted him. He tried to raise his wand but his hand refused to respond.

The man pulled him back into the room they had just left, out of harm's way. Tonks didn't return to the room and he could only assume she had gone on without him. Not Standard Auror training, but it was what worked in the Order.

"Take your wand and try disarming him." The man was vaguely trying to put pressure onto his shoulder; pressing down with a searing, pain inducing pressure and it was all Kingsley could do to stop himself from lashing out. He urged the desperate man on who needed no further encouragement.

Kingsley sat, next to his bound prisoner, wand held in his left hand while his right hung limply by his side, he held his wand aimed on the door to the hall they had originally come through, and tried to move his right hand, tried to regain some kind of feeling in his fingers, tried to ignore the agony in his shoulder.

***n

The battle outside was bloody. Voldemort and Dumbledore had immediately clashed wands on spotting each other; they ignored and were ignored in turn by the rest of the combatants.

Sirius fast and hard, breaking as many bones as he could distracting and shielding while Remus tore into the Death Eater ranks. His strength was amazing and he used his wand to blast the injured Death Eaters away when he was finished incapacitating them.

Arthur Weasley received a cutting hex to the chest that immediately started to seep blood, he returned with multiple stunners until one finally hit its mark. The Deatheater fell but was up soon after as one of his comrades revived him.

Bill came up behind the man and set an old Egyptian curse on him that covered him in scarab beetles; they swarmed him and he screamed a horrified wail as he was taken under by the mass of moving, feasting creatures. Bill looked vaguely sickened but he shook it off and moved on.

Severus was in a battle with Moody; they both traded insults and fierce looking, harmless spells while surreptitiously helping the order out, stunning and incapacitating those that they could without being noticed.

Charlie had gotten close enough to one of the deatheaters that he had forgone his wand and started beating on the masked man with his large fists. Charlie had been brawling for years and it didn't take long before the man was done for the count, bloody bruised, and unconscious but alive.

A bludgeoning hex hit Charlie from the side and he stumbled as two of his ribs snapped, he shook it off and threw himself back into the fight, relying more on his wand and less on his fists.

*** nsn

Back inside the house Tonks had seen Kingsley get hit and get dragged out of the fight, she was hidden at the base of the stairs, crouched and trying to make herself as small a target as possible. She heard a scream from the top of the stairs and took the opportunity to rush the stairs. She made it to the top, shield in place, unhindered.

A second scream and horrible girlish laughter rang out from the room to the right of the stairs. Tonks slowed as she recognized her cousin's distinctive laughter.

The screams started up in earnest and Tonks had no choice but to rush the room, wand up and firing as her cousin crucioed the woman.

Tonks fired a bludgeoning curse but Bellatrix flicked it away, thankfully releasing the poor woman from her spell. The woman fell to lie on the ground, breathing heavily and sobbing.

"Cousin." Bellatrix greeted her with a sneer and a dark sizziling spell that Tonks barely avoided.

They traded spells, getting bloodier and bloodier as each let the more harmless cutting spells through and concentrated on anything darker, anything incapacitating.

And then a strong, angry voice called out Expalliarmus and Bellatrix lost her grip on her wand. It started to sail through the air but Bellatrix lunged forward and managed to grab a hold of it again. Just.

Tonks didn't waste a second, she fired off the strongest concussive spell she could, Bellatrix only barely managed to put a shield up in time, but it wasn't nearly strong enough. The spell smashed into the shield and shattered it.

Bellatrix took the spell to the chest, dampened as it was having gone through the shield. It sent her flying across the room to crash into the closed window. The window broke and Bellatrix fell out onto the roof of the floor below and her inertia sent her tumbling onto the ground below.

The battle below halted for only a moment to watch Bellatrix's ungainly fall to earth and then Voldemort gave the order to retreat. The deatheater's fought to pick their comrades up, and Lestrange rushed to his wife's side with a violence that left two order members concussed and bleeding.

Voldemort upped his fight with Dumbledore until the old man was backing away, working desperately to shield and intercept as many spells as he possibly could. Voldemort smiled a cold shark like grin at the man, letting him know that at least one of them was enjoying themselves.

The Deatheaters apparated away into the night, taking as many fallen comrades with them as they could manage. Voldemort gave one last push of power that left Dumbledore staggering before bowing mockingly and apparating away to join his followers.

The order gave a hoarse cheer as they regained their breath and took stock of their injuries. None of their side had died and that was a victory in and of itself. One Deatheater lay dead, eaten alive and one more was laying incapacitated at the feet of Sirius and Remus; who had fought fiercely to keep their prize.

A man helped a woman carrying a baby out of the house, they were followed by Tonks supporting a stumbling, groaning Kingsley. Blood soaked his shirt and dripped from his right arm.

The order rushed forward to help. Aruthur helped the man with his wife and the rest unburdened Tonks of Kingsley. She made her way over to Dumbledore and smiled triumphantly.

"We've got two, trussed up in the house." Dumbledore smiled down at her like a proud grandfather.

"Good work, my dear. We shall get young Mr Shareece to call the aurors when we are gone, let them deal with them." Tonks smile faltered.

"We need to question them for information before we just give them away."

"My dear, I trust you to get all the information we need in your position as an auror, we cannot be seen to be kidnapping, even kidnapping death eaters." Tonks nodded sharply, not wanting to give up her capture but knowing an order when she heard one.

Dumbledore approached Jameson Shareece and his wife and child.

"Mr Shareece, I believe congratulations are in order for your young child." Dumbledore smiled at his former student who just looked at him uncomprehendingly.

"Thank you sir, you saved us." Dumbledore smiled and held a finger out to the child's grasping hand.

"It was the right thing to do, take your family to the hospital and call the Aurors. I ask only that you wait until we leave and not mention any specific members of this organization. I shall talk to you soon my dear boy when you are all settled." Dumbledore smiled again at the family before he turned and made his way to Kingsley Shacklebolt even as his legs collapsed from beneath him.

***nfn

Voldemort raged, the order had robbed him of his kill. They had stolen four of his followers from him and he hadn't even been able to kill any of them. He looked around at his wounded followers and glowered.

Bellatrix was being mended by her husband, who was caring for her with gentle hands and a look of devotion on his face.

The Carrows were fixing themselves up and reliving the battle, what they had done, who they had hurt, what they could have changed; as if it were all a game of Quidditch.

Nott was nursing a broken arm and being seen to by his wife; he was silent and didn't acknowledge the fussing woman, simply glared straight ahead.

Snape was watching it all, mask in hand. His brothers and sisters hurt and a number of them missing and he just stood there. It was his order that did this, his order that fucked with them. Voldemort gave no warning just flicked his wand and enjoyed the man's screams as he was flung writhing to the ground.

"Are you happy, your order has won the battle and Shareece still lives and not one of them died. You traitor, you fucking traitor."

He let the spell off and waited for anything the man had to say for himself.

"My lord please, I was with you the whole time, I couldn't have warned them, I fought beside you. Please my lord my loyalty is to you and you alone." Voldemort breathed harshly through his mouth trying to calm down, to reign in the desire to kill the man. He needed a spy in the orders ranks; even if one could never truly trust a spy they were still useful. He would have to let him live.

"Leave. Run back to your order before I change my mind, I shall call upon you soon." Voldemort turned away from Severus and waited until he heard the crack of apparition. He turned back to view his followers, all looking at him in expectation. He turned away from them and walked out of the room, leaving them to lick their wounds.

***gngn***

Severus apparated to Spinners end and fell flat on his face. He lay with the grimy carpet pressing into his cheek but he couldn't bring himself to move. The aftershock tremors of crucio exposure began to wrack his body. Exhausted, and alone; Severus Snape blacked out.

To be continued…


End file.
